Kuuyisa Midzimu Yenyika
Why Returning Zimbabwe’s Ancestors From British Museums Is a National Obligation
By HRH Princess Eugene Majuru
Across Zimbabwe, from the granite hills of Mazowe to the valleys of Matabeleland, we speak of ancestors not in the past tense, but as living forces. Midzimu are guardians. They are our link to land, justice, and identity. They are not history — they are presence.
And yet, some of our most revered ancestors — warriors of the First Chimurenga, chiefs, spirit-mediums, ordinary men and women who stood against the violence of occupation — remain locked in foreign museums, far from the soil that birthed them.
Their spirits remain unsettled.
Their stories remain incomplete.
Their return remains overdue.
As HRH Princess Eugene Majuru, descended from Zimbabwe’s royal and resistance lineages, I take this work personally. I have spent years tracing the archival footprints of colonial violence: searching records, interviewing families, comparing oral histories, and identifying possible locations of our ancestors’ remains in British institutions.
This is not only research.
It is responsibility.
It is justice work.
It is spiritual work.
And today, with global support from scholars like Professor Dan Hicks, the world is at last beginning to hear what Zimbabweans have said for more than a century: our ancestors must come home.
The Colonial Theft of Our Ancestors
To understand the urgency, we must confront the truth clearly:
1. Many First Chimurenga ancestors were killed, beheaded, and taken as “specimens.”
Colonial officers collected the skulls of resistance leaders as trophies, evidence, or objects of racial “science.”
2. These remains were shipped to Britain.
They entered museum collections in London, Cambridge, and Oxford — not as human beings, but as “anthropological specimens.”
3. Their identities were deliberately obscured.
Catalogues replaced names with codes.
Communities were denied the right to mourn properly.
Families were left in generations of spiritual uncertainty.
This is why the call for return is not only about history.
It is about healing our land, restoring national dignity, and reconnecting our spiritual lines.
Where Our Ancestors Are Held Today
Natural History Museum, London (NHM)
Holds several remains from Zimbabwe, including skulls suspected to relate to Chimurenga fighters taken between 1893 and 1897.
Cambridge University – Duckworth Laboratory
Holds remains linked to colonial-era executions and “scientific” collection during early occupation.
Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
Long criticised for displays of African human remains; now undergoing reform, but still holding pieces of our history.
These institutions are slowly — very slowly — beginning to face pressure to reveal what they hold.
Professor Dan Hicks and the Global Push for Truth
While Zimbabweans have been calling for repatriation for decades, Professor Dan Hicks has helped amplify the message internationally.
His term “necrography” — death-writing in the museum — names the way colonial institutions documented human remains while ignoring the humanity of the people taken. His demand is simple:
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Be transparent.
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Publish full lists of human remains.
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Engage descendant communities.
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Return the ancestors.
What Hicks is saying on a global stage echoes what our elders have always known:
“Kufa kwemuroyi kamba ichiripo.”
Something is wrong when spirits are not at rest.
Zimbabwe’s Steps Toward Repatriation
In recent years, our nation has taken significant action:
Identification of ancestral remains in UK and Swiss collections
At least 13 individuals connected to the First Chimurenga have been traced.
Government and NMMZ-led negotiations with British institutions
Dialogues have begun with NHM and Cambridge for formal repatriation processes.
Plans for a national shrine or receiving facility
Zimbabwe is preparing sacred space where the returned ancestors will be honoured.
Diaspora involvement
Zimbabweans abroad are forming networks to push for transparency from European institutions.
But challenges remain: unclear documentation, lax museum policies, and bureaucratic delays are still barriers to return.
My Work as HRH Princess Eugene Majuru
My role in this struggle is guided by lineage and duty. I work on:
1. Tracing Zimbabwean remains in British archives
Identifying possible Chimurenga heroes through colonial documents, military notes, and museum catalogues.
2. Supporting descendant communities
Helping families seek answers, closure, and proper burial for their ancestors.
3. Speaking on behalf of Zimbabwean heritage internationally
Engaging scholars, institutions, and activists to ensure Zimbabwe’s voice is heard clearly.
4. Reclaiming memory through research and writing
My ongoing work documents the stories behind the remains — restoring identity where the colonial archive tried to erase it.
This is not work I do alone.
It is part of a much wider national and spiritual movement.
Why Returning the Bones Matters for Zimbabwe
Spiritual Balance
We know as Zimbabweans that a person whose remains lie in foreign soil is a person whose spirit has not been allowed to complete its journey home.
Cultural Restoration
Repatriation reconnects us to stories interrupted by colonisation.
National Identity
The First Chimurenga was the foundation of Zimbabwe’s liberation. Its heroes deserve more than unmarked shelves in foreign basements.
Intergenerational Healing
The trauma of their removal still lives in families and communities. Returning them begins the cycle of healing.
A Call to Zimbabweans Everywhere
This is not the work of museums alone.
It is not the work of government alone.
It is not the work of royals, researchers, or activists alone.
It is the work of a nation honouring its ancestors.
Wherever you are — in Zimbabwe or in the diaspora — your voice strengthens this cause. Ask your institutions. Challenge your representatives. Teach your children. Share the names of our heroes.
Because a nation that forgets its ancestors forgets itself.
And a nation that brings its ancestors home restores itself.
The Time Has Come
For more than a century, our ancestors have waited in foreign silence.
Now we move to break that silence — with truth, with unity, with dignity.
The bones will return.
The spirits will rest.
Zimbabwe will remember.
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