Looted cultural artefacts: Uganda seeks fresh start

Some of the hundreds of thousands of artefacts believed to be in Western museums and private collections have started trickling back to the continent. 

Last month, 39 invaluable pieces taken from Uganda during the 1890s and early 1900s and housed at the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) in England for more than 100 years, were only returned on a three-year renewable loan.

“I am excited about the coming of these 39 objects back to their country of origin, despite the fact that they are a very small proportion of the 1,500 Ugandan objects in the Cambridge Museum,” Dr Sithole observed.

She added: “The number of returns to Africa started to increase and reached a peak in 2022. But last year, there were virtually no restitutions back to Africa so I am glad that we are again starting to witness the return of African heritage, such as this one from Cambridge University.”

The Cambridge Museum holds around 1,400 separate historic ethnographic objects from Uganda, many of them acquired and donated to the university by the late British anthropologist and missionary, Rev John Roscoe. Others were donated by Buganda Kingdom’s then katikkiro (prime minister), Sir Apolo Kagwa (1890-1926). Most of Roscoe’s collection has not been displayed in Cambridge.

“Looted artefacts and all those taken under duress or unclear circumstances should be permanently returned to Africa forthwith. It boggles the mind how somebody who stole your car can then return it to you as a loan,” Dr Sithole said, adding: “Hence the West, including Cambridge University and other UK institutions that recently loaned looted artefacts to Ghana, should permanently transfer their ownership to the countries/communities of origin.” 

The artefacts

Among the 39 artefacts returned from the MAA to Uganda is a headdress made of human hair that was acquired from Lango in 1937. There are also beautifully decorated pots from Ankole that were acquired in the 1920s, and a Lubaale vessel from Buganda, acquired in 1907. The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities says five Sacred Twins (Balongo) belonging to the Buganda Kingdom will be returned to the community (Wamala Tombs) at a date yet to be communicated.

Elsewhere, there is the royal drum from Bunyoro Kingdom measuring 70x65x55cm, with a rounded wooden body and a truncated conical base that was acquired in 1920. The lower part of the body is covered with a casing of ox hide, and the head is covered with an ox hide skin. The two pieces of hide and are held in place with straight lacing, made from thin twisted strips of leather. The body is decorated with strings of plaited fibre, strings of cowrie shells, small peak beads, back seeds and a horn of a ram.

A cone of human hair measuring 15x10x6cm was acquired from Atiak in Acholi in northern Uganda in 1927. The cone, which is a headrest, is ornamented with copper and brass rings and rows of white, red, yellow and blue beads. The narrow point terminates in a brass knob, possibly a weight. The strap is decorated with pieces of tooth or hone.

A pot made from black earthenware measuring 11.5x12x17cm was acquired from Ankole in 1913. Conical in shape with a long tapering neck, everted rim and flat base, the pot is decorated with incised designs filled with white pigment. It also has three horizontal bands with raised dots alternating with triangles, filled with hatching, and vertical bars. The inscription on the base is probably the price.

Among the 39 artefacts is Emomi, a shield made from thick hippopotamus hide, with a wooden handle measuring 46x48x16cm. It was acquired from Bunyoro by Ernest Haddon in 1905, before being donated to Cambridge Museum in the 1930s. The hide shield is roughly circular, with a curved cross-section; there are two lobes and a folded edge. The reverse has a centred wooden handle across the diameter that has been bound and secured in place with strips of brown and black leather. It is decorated with scored, tightly intersecting lines.

“This is the second time Uganda is receiving its cultural heritage artefacts from Cambridge. The first return occurred in July 1962, during the Independence celebrations, when the Kibuuka regalia were repatriated. The Kibuuka showcase at the Uganda Museum is one of the centrepiece artefacts of the museum exhibits that visitors can’t miss,” Ms Jackline Besigye Nyiracyiza, the acting commissioner in-charge of Museums and Monuments in the Department of Museums and Monuments, told Saturday Monitor.

Kibuuka’s shrine at Mbale in Mawokota, Mpigi District, was tampered with during the religious wars of 1888-1890 in Buganda. At the beginning of the 20th Century, his relics were taken to Britain. His relics at the Uganda Museum include his lower jaw, penis and testicle, all in case; stool for relics, animal skins, umbilical cord, decorated mat, knife, shields and iron bell, among others. 

Loaned or repatriated?

Mr Nelson Adebo Abiti, the head curator at the Uganda Museum, reckons the 39 artefacts “can inspire our young people to acknowledge their past and feel hopeful for the future.”

He added: “We also focused on a certain period of time, of aggressive British Colonial administration between 1890 and early 1900 that were critical to Uganda’s protectorate, a number of political changes happened, in terms of 1900 Agreement, the boundaries of Uganda, shifts in the administration of the kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro, and Ankole. You will also recall Kabaka Mwanga and Omukama Kabalega were already exiled. Who ruled the society? What happened to their regalia?”

Ms Nyiracyiza said the three-year renewable loan of the artefacts should not be read superficially. She further held that the repatriation means the artefacts “will never return to Europe.” Per Nyiracyiza, the government of Uganda has deftly navigated the murky waters of restitution by choosing the term ‘return on long-term loan’ over ‘repatriation.’

“The success of this loan has opened doors for other museums that wish to collaborate with Uganda Museum to return heritage objects under their custody, among which is the University of Oxford Museum,” she beamed, adding: “These artefacts require in-depth research. Rev John Roscoe, the main collector, did not provide adequate information. Researchers from the Uganda Museum, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Michigan will jointly collect information from the communities where these objects came from.”

Roscoe (1861-1932) was a missionary from the Anglican Missionary Society to East Africa. In 1884, on mission, he travelled to what became the British Protectorate of Uganda, and lived there among several indigenous tribes until 1909. He spent 25 years in Africa and conducted anthropological data collection of the Africans he encountered on mission.

Abiti said funding for the project dubbed “Repositioning the Uganda Museum” was supported by the US-based Andrew Mellon Foundation through the University of Michigan. The estimated cost of the research, cargo shipping the crates and conservation preparation of the 39 repatriated artefacts was around $100,000 (about Shs369m).

“We are still researching the artefacts so that we compare the information from the communities and the archival stories. Thereafter, an exhibition will be organised for further public engagement of past histories, colonialism, imperial collection of artefacts and restitution debates,” he disclosed.

What the future holds 

Dr Rudo Sithole, a former director of the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, said the estimated numbers of looted African heritage show that the Africa Museum in Belgium has 186,000, the British Museum has 73,000, the Humboldt forum in Berlin has 75,000, the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum in Paris, France, has 70,000 and the Welt Museum in Vienna, Austria, has 37,000 African objects. 

“The extent to which Africa was robbed of its heritage is well illustrated by the more than 5,000 Benin bronzes that were looted from the Oba’s palace in 1897. They are currently in many museums and collections in the West. They were not just ordinary artworks for display, but they documented the story of Benin including its achievements, and belief systems,” Dr Sithole said.

“The African museums are doing their best given the limited resources but can be greatly improved with the return of their heritage from the West as it will contribute towards the restoration of African dignity and identity, as well as improved revenue collections. The state also varies from country to country, depending on how each country values and supports the development of its museums,” she added.

Dr Sithole, who also runs point on the Pan-African restitution organization, said museums are important because they provide cultural, social, and educational services, as well as income generation. They also preserve both the tangible and intangible. 

“African museums can play meaningful roles in assisting countries to prepare demands, as well as negotiate for and carry out the restitution and repatriations and then work with communities to re-interpret and preserve the restituted heritage. Through this restitution work, museums can contribute towards redressing historical injustices and facilitate reconciliation,” she reasoned.

As to whether museums in Africa have strategies for self-sustenance and relevance in the current times, Dr Sithole said thus: “This again varies from country to country and from museum to museum, depending on the type of leadership. But currently, museums need to embrace restitution work in order to remain relevant. AFRIMUHERE is working with the African museums to build their capacity for restitutions through webinars, workshops and learning from what has been achieved so far.”