• UK museum to return 45 Botswana artifacts after 150 years

• Items collected in 1890s; restitution follows Botswana request

• Return tied to broader African push for cultural repatriation

Brighton & Hove Museums said on Monday that 45 cultural artifacts from Botswana will be returned after about 150 years abroad. The collection includes clothing, accessories, hunting tools and everyday items.

The objects were collected in the 1890s by Rev. William Charles Willoughby in the Gammangwato region. A British missionary who served as adviser and translator to Chief Khama III, Willoughby transferred them to Brighton Museum in 1899, during the British Bechuanaland protectorate, where they have remained since.

In 2022, the Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe formally requested their return. The restitution, scheduled for April 2026, will be the largest of its kind between a British museum and Botswana. A permanent exhibition, jointly prepared by the two institutions, will open on May 27, 2026, in Serowe.

The initiative stems from a collaborative project. Between 2019 and 2021, the two institutions took part in “Making African Connections,” a study led by the University of Sussex, with findings published on the Brighton & Hove Museums website.

The research established the provenance of each object and led to Serowe’s formal request. The James Henry Green Charitable Trust is funding the return and contributing to the permanent exhibition.

A cultural festival will accompany the opening. Portia Tremlett, a curator at Brighton, described the restitution as an important step in reconnecting these artifacts with the communities and knowledge that give them meaning.

Objects regain cultural context

Research suggests the artifacts were likely purchased from local craftspeople or transferred in the context of religious conversion. Displayed in Britain, they lost much of their cultural meaning, according to the two museums.

Both institutions support their return. Gase Kediseng, curator at the Khama III Memorial Museum, said the restitution “goes beyond a physical transfer; it allows Batswana to tell their own story through objects that reflect who they were.”

An international summit co-organized with the universities of Sussex and Botswana will coincide with the exhibition’s opening.

The return is part of a broader trend across Africa. Nigeria has long sought the repatriation of the Benin Bronzes, taken by British forces in 1897. In February 2026, the University of Cambridge said it would transfer legal ownership of 116 of those bronzes to Nigeria. London’s Horniman Museum set a precedent in 2022 by returning 72 objects. South Africa has also increased formal requests to European museums.

Botswana has also strengthened its cultural framework. Since 2012, four elements have been inscribed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, including the Wosana ritual in 2024. With a population of 2.6 million and a median age of 24, according to Worldometers data, the country is focused on transmitting its heritage to younger generations. The restitution marks a significant step in that effort.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou