Descendants of Zimbabwe resistance heroes urge UK to locate looted skulls

Relatives call on institutions to help them find remains of ancestors who led fight against British colonisers in 1890s Which human remains are held in UK museums – and where? Descendants of freedom fighters executed and beheaded in southern Africa by colonial British forces have called on the Natural History Museum in London and the University of Cambridge to help them find their ancestors’ looted skulls. Zimbabwean descendants of the first chimurenga heroes, who led an uprising against British colonisers in the 1890s, have long believed the museum and university hold several of the skulls. Eight of the descendants have now formally asked the institutions to collaborate in locating six of their ancestors’ remains. They have also offered to provide DNA samples to assist with the research. The museum and university said in 2022 that they had not identified any remains in their collections as belonging to the colonial resistance fighters, prompting dismay and disbelief among their descendants and Zimbabwean officials. In letters sent to the institutions this month, the descendants said questions over the skulls’ provenance could only be resolved by establishing a taskforce of experts