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EXILE REPATRIATION PROJECT

A commitment from the President’s State of the Nation Address in February 2020, made a pronouncement for the repatriation of mortal remains of Advocate Duma Nokwe and Florence Mophosho from Zambia and Basil February from Zimbabwe. The Presidential pronouncement plan highlighted the inclusive approach and implementation plan informed by the National Policy on Repatriation and Restitution of Human Remains and Heritage Objects.

The Repatriation and Restitution Programme has been developed by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (“SAHRA”). The adoption and subsequent cabinet endorsement of the National Policy on the Repatriation and Restitution of Human Remains and Heritage Objects, has created an enabling environment and allocation of resources to undertake the task of identification, exhumation of graves and repatriation of remains of fallen cadres and persons that died in exile in the neighbouring countries and beyond. The implementation plan envisages to follow a country-to-country implementation schedule in different phases from stakeholder consultations at individual family, community level to national and international level to a final handover, reburial, and memorialisation.

This Implementation Plan adopted a country-to-country model that aimed at consolidating time and costs by doing group repatriations from each country. It also therefore proposed that the Nokwe, Mophosho and February repatriations be amalgamated into the group repatriation plan as opposed to previous single repatriations. The Exile Repatriation Project will be launched with the first group repatriations from Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The repatriation efforts are part of a broader commitment to ensure that these heroes are brought back to their homeland with the dignity and respect they rightfully deserve. The project involves collaboration with regional governments, historical experts, and local communities to ensure a respectful and orderly return.

As South Africa celebrates 30 years of freedom and democracy, the government of the is making good progress in the implementation of its Resistance Liberation Heritage Route project, whose focus is the repatriation of the human remains of former liberation heroes and heroines who died in exile.   The project is informed by the National Policy of Repatriation and Restitution of Human Remains and Heritage Objects of 2021.