International News
South Africa Wants Return Of Apartheid, Colonial-Era Remains
South Africa is determined to repatriate the remains of its people taken abroad during the colonial era and those who died in exile as anti-apartheid activists, the culture minister said Monday.
The government was in contact with foreign institutions over the return of remains of indigenous people, including from the KhoiSan group who are regarded as among the country’s “first people”, minister Gayton McKenzie told reporters.
Government teams would also visit neighbouring countries such as Angola and Zimbabwe to inspect cemetery records to trace people who may have died there during the struggle against apartheid so they could be repatriated, he said.
“These are acts of justice, remembrance and healing,” he said. “They affirm our government’s commitment to restore dignity, promote cultural restoration, and confront the painful legacy of colonialism and apartheid.”
The minister of sports, arts and culture announced a plan to rebury the remains of 58 indigenous people who had been removed for study by museums and other institutions.
The remains were among those taken from graves during the colonial era, he said.
“They were displayed in museums, studied in labs, and held in foreign institutions without consent or respect. We are correcting these injustices,” he said.
“We call on all institutions, both here and abroad, to engage in honest and action-driven processes of restitution and repatriation.”
McKenzie cited as a success the repatriation in 2012 of the remains of a KhoiSan couple, Klaas and Trooi Pienaar, who were illegally exhumed in 1909 and shipped to Austria for study.
He also referred to the return in 2002 of the remains of a KhoiSan woman, Sarah Baartman, who died in France in 1815 after being taken to Europe and paraded as a spectacle in one of the country’s most emblematic such cases.
Later, in the fight against apartheid which was ended in 1994, “thousands of our people went into exile during the liberation struggle,” McKenzie added.
“Many never came home. Some died unknown, buried in unmarked graves, without their families having the chance to mourn,” he said.
A mission was headed to Angola in the next weeks with a list of 400 people to find, he said.
The government was in talks with an Australian demining firm for help to access areas that were still mined after Angola’s decades of civil war that ended in 2002.
More than 1,000 anti-apartheid activists died in exile in countries in Africa but also in Cuba and Europe, officials said in September when the remains of 42 exiles were returned.
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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