21/04/2026
After 137 years in the wilderness and following extensive negotiations between Zimbabwe and South Africa, a monumental step in cultural restitution was achieved last week with the official repatriation of the last of Zimbabwe’s historic and sacred soapstone birds, alongside eight ancestral human remains. The handover, celebrated at a ceremony in Harare attended by traditional leaders and government officials from both nations, marks a critical moment of healing and regional solidarity.
European hunter Willi Possett took the stone bird along with other sculptures from its home in the ancient City of Great Zimbabwe. He sold it to Cecil Rhodes, the imperialist adventurer who led the colonisation of present day Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The first return was in 1981 when South Africa released four birds it held in a museum and the second was in 2003 when Germany returned a soapstone pedestal.
The significance of this repatriation, particularly concerning the Zimbabwe Bird, cannot be overstated.
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