Zimbabwean descendants of the first chimurenga heroes, who led an uprising against British colonisers in the 1890s, have long believed the museum and university hold several of the skulls.
Eight of the descendants have now formally asked the institutions to collaborate in locating six of their ancestors’ remains. In their letter, they have also offered to provide DNA samples to assist with the research.
Courtesy Natural History Museum, London
The museum and university said in 2022 that they had not identified any remains in their collections as belonging to the colonial resistance fighters, prompting dismay and disbelief among their descendants and Zimbabwean officials.
One of letter’s signatories is a descendant of Chief Chingaira Makoni, who opposed British settlers seizing land for farming and mining in what is now Manicaland province in north-eastern Zimbabwe.
After engaging the forces of Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company at the battles of Gwindingwi in 1896, Makoni was captured, executed by firing squad and beheaded. His skull is believed to be among those of the chimurenga heroes later taken to England.
A spokesperson for the Natural History Museum in London said it was committed to repatriating the 11 individuals from Zimbabwe in its collections, and was awaiting confirmation from the Zimbabwean government as to their desired next steps.
