Germany to return artefacts stolen in Cameroon, 2 others

The German government has agreed to return artefacts stolen from some African countries by colonial rulers.

The affected artefacts were reportedly looted by German officials from Cameroon, Namibia and Tanzania during the colonial era.

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, said the artefacts would be permanently returned to their original countries in the coming months.

The artefacts include shell-studded statue of a mother goddess named Ngonnso, which holds great spiritual significance for the Nso’ people of North-West Cameroon.

READ ALSO: Buhari vows to repatriate Nigeria’s looted artefacts from abroad

The statue, according to the Foundation, has been part of the collection of Berlin’s Ethnological Museum since 1903 after a German colonial officer who had stolen it from the Nso tribe donated it to the government.

The German government also approved the permanent return of 23 artefacts including jewellery, tools and fashion items to Namibia, while objects looted in Tanzania during the Maji Maji rebellion and other conflicts during its early 20th century colonial rule will be returned to the East African country.

The Namibian artefacts were stolen during the colonial period from 1884 to 1919, and were sent to the southern African country in May for research purposes and will now remain there.

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