Chief Taku Makes Impassioned Call for Return of Bangwa Queen, King and Other Artefacts

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

BUEA, Cameroon – Chief Charles Taku, an international lawyer before international courts and tribunals has made an impassioned call for the “urgent and unconditional restitution of the Bangwa Queen in Dapper Foundation in France, the Bangwa King in Metropolitan Museum in New York, USA and the cultural heritage artefacts which are in the National Ethnological Museum in Berlin and Municipal Museums in Germany, in the Netherlands and other parts of the world.”

Chief Taku made the plea after some Bangwa artefacts looted decades ago were successfully returned. He has reaffirmed the commitment to intensify the struggle for the restitution of Africa’s cultural heritage artefacts in colonial possessions and for the payment of reparations for historical and colonial violations and atrocity crimes which have shocked the collective conscience of humanity over the years and continue.

On March 30, 2024, at the ST Muna Foundation in Yaounde, eight (8) significant cultural and spiritual heritages sold in the auction and online in The Netherlands and Germany were officially handed over by REGARTLESS, formerly known as Sysy House of Fame, to the Lebang community. 

“… The return of the artefacts encourages and energises us the affected community to deploy every legal means of recovering our cultural heritage artefacts and bringing them to our ancestral home where they belong. I congratulate our affected Bangwa people who have endured a century and twenty-five years of trauma, deprivation, shame and victimisation on this historic occasion,” Chief Charles Taku said in a press statement on the return of the artefacts.

“I strongly congratulate REGARTless, formerly SySy House of Fame for the heroic initiative it took in procuring and bringing these cultural heritage artefacts to us, the legitimate owners. REGARTLess through this collaborative initiative has made a significant contribution towards our collective struggle for restitution of looted and stolen colonial cultural heritage artefacts and reparations for historical and colonial egregious human rights violations and serious violations of humanitarian law and towards an effective decolonisation of Africa.”

Experts estimate that more than 95% of Africa's Heritage is held elsewhere in the world. A recent study by the famous Benedicte Savoy and her team shows that 40,000 objects from Cameroon, ranging from Human remains to Royal heritage such as crowns and thrones, are in German museums. Like Nso, Bele Bele, Tibati, Sawa, Bamileke, and Bali, invaluable heritages from Bangwa are among these 40,000.

The artefacts at German museums of world culture include textiles, musical instruments, ceremonial masks, royal treasures like stools and thrones, texts, tools, and weapons — "none of which were conceived as display objects for vitrines.

Chief Charles Taku said: “I have noted with profound indignation that the resistance towards the restitution of African Heritage artefacts and the payment of reparations for colonial crimes is premised on the supposed legality of the crimes under the General Act of the Berlin Conference was signed on 26 February 1885 by nineteen European powers, Article VI titles “Provisions Concerning the Protection of Natives, Missionaries and Travellers, and Religious Freedoms.”

“The continuing and intergenerational harm caused by these crimes and the continuing and intergenerational benefits accruing to the perpetrators of these crimes must be denounced by all good people, organisations and all advocates of the sanctity of the world's common humanity. The enduring effect of these crimes may never be cured but restitution and reparations and the decolonisation of international law may carry symbolic weight and restore the dignity and humanity of victims and affected communities in Africa and all parts of the world where they occurred.”

For ages, the Bangwa community has been custodians of a rich cultural heritage formed by their history, traditions, and deep-rooted connections to the land. Today, Bangwa has some of the most treasured Heritage on the globe, looming in museums and private collections.

"I take this opportunity to call for the immediate removal of all barriers to restitution and the payment of appropriate reparations for colonial and all historical wrongs now. The ongoing subterfuges to sideline affected communities and victims of these egregious violations must be vehemently denounced," Chief Charles Taku added.