‘A Symbol of Hope’

On 27 June, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz((SPK))—a German government organization that manages 27 German museums and cultural organizations—announced that it will return the statue to Cameroon as calls for the restitution of stolen artefacts in the possession of former colonial forces continue to gain momentum.

Cameroon was a colony of Germany from 1884 to 1916. In a statement by SPK, the president of the foundation, Hermann Parzinger, said: ‘The decision makes it clear that the question of returning collection items from colonial contexts is not just a question of a context of injustice. The special – especially spiritual – significance of an object for its society of origin can justify its return.’

Reacting to the return, Cameroonian cultural activist, Sylvie Njobati, who has been campaigning for the return of the statue since 2021 through a civil society initiative, ‘Bring Back Ngonnso’, spoke to The Republic. She said: ‘The return is long overdue. It’s been close to 30 years of restitution request efforts made by different people from Nso’. This decision by the SPK to return Ngonnso’ is very timely. It was expected and we are very happy that the restitution is finally happening. However, it’s a process and what I wish is that the process doesn’t take unnecessarily longer than we would want it to be.’