Khama III Memorial Museum receives

British Missionary, Reverend William Charles Willoughby, collected and removed dozens of cultural artefacts from GaMmangwato territory in 1890s. While some were given as gifts or gathered during his time as an advisor to Kgosi Khama III, the items were taken under unequal colonial power dynamics. After nearly 130 years in the United Kingdom, the colonial era artefacts have finally been brought back home.

Khama III Memorial Museum submitted a formal claim for the items’ return in 2022 and the United Kingdom responded in the affirmative. The repatriation of artefacts from the UK is directly linked to the African Union’s strategic push of which it champions the return of collected heritage through its ‘Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries’, driving bilateral claims by individual African countries against British museums. The repatriation process saw 45 sacred artefacts including clothing and hunting implements from UK’s Brighton and Hove Museum being returned to Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe.

Following the restitution landmark agreement with UK’s Brighton and Hove Museums, the items were officially repatriated to Botswana leading to an official unveiling ceremony of the historical artefacts of significance at an exhibition marked by ululations, celebrations and joy at Khama III Memorial Museum on Wednesday. Kgosi Khama IV of BaGammangwato expressed gratitude during the ceremony noting, history and culture preservation would not be complete without the repatriated items. The event marked an important milestone in history as it accorded viewers an opportunity to reflect on their history, identity and responsibility to preserve and honour who they are as Bangwato, BaGammangwato and in large Batswana.

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“Such artefacts that were taken almost 130 years back during Khama III’s reign form part of Batswana’s daily lives, ceremonies and creative memories. They were not only of historical significance but had a deep cultural, tribal and national importance,” said Kgosi Khama. He reckoned that Batswana’s heritage and identity were entangled to their way of life, denoted the way people lived together, how they related to one another, and saw their place among those who came before them. Kgosi Khama said that was where their values mattered; Botho, Therisanyo, Kutlwano and Boipelego, adding these were the guiding principles for communities that formed the foundation of understanding heritage as something shared, lived and protected across generations.

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