Diplomacy
African Voices Archive
President Kenneth Kaunda
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Troy Phili is the Manager of the Repatriation and Restitution Office at the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA). He plays a key role in managing the return of cultural heritage, including ancestral human remains and cultural artifacts, to South Africa. He has been involved in projects like the return of Royal Nkuna artifacts and the documentation of repatriation processes.
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Abdul-Mohammed Gimba is the Director of Museums for the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in Nigeria. He is involved in advocacy for the promotion of Nigerian cultural heritage, highlighting the importance of museums in national development, and collaborating with the media to enhance public awareness of monuments. As a curator, Gimba emphasized the need to preserve historical objects scientifically and promotes the synergy between physical and virtual museums. He has been deeply involved in Nigeria's restitution efforts, particularly in terms of establishing and refining soft infrastructure for belongings that have been repatriated to the country, and are being housed in the national museums.
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Geoffrey Onyeama began his career as a research officer in the Nigerian Law Reform Commission Lagos from 1983 to 1984. He then worked as a lawyer with Mogboh and Associates in Enugu, Nigeria from 1984 to 1985. In 1985, he joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as an assistant programme officer for development cooperation and external relations, Bureau for Africa and Western Asia. He rose through the ranks at the WIPO to become deputy director general for the development sector in 2009. In November 2015 he was appointed Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs by President Muhammadu Buhari. In this role, he has been central to the diplomatic dimensions of Nigeria's global scale restitution efforts.
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Barbara Mosima Joyce Masekela is an academic, activist and poet, who has been lauded for her stayed dedication to the arts and social transformation, and commitment to cultural activism and fight for humanity. In the 1980s, while exiled in Zambia, she became the head of the African National Congress’s Department of Arts and Culture, which had a major influence on the academic and cultural boycotts that formed part of the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa. As the South African ambassador to France and UNESCO, she was responsible for leading the official demand and diplomatic negotiations surrounding one of the first human ancestor repatriations to Africa, this being the return of Sara Baartman to South Africa from France's Musée de l'Homme. In the lead up to the demand, she publicly supported artists like filmmaker, Zola Maseko (The Life and Times of Sara Baartman) and poet Diana Ferrus (I've Come To Take You Home) who advocated for the return of Sara Baartman through their artistic works. In 2025, she received an honorary doctorate from Rhodes University and University of Johannesburg for her immense contributions to the political and cultural spheres in South Africa.
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Brigitte Sylvia Mabandla is a South African politician, lawyer and former anti-apartheid activist. After a decade studying and teaching law in Botswana and Zambia, she was a legal adviser to the ANC in Lusaka from 1986 to 1990. Thereafter she joined the party's delegation to the negotiations to end apartheid. She was appointed to the Government of National Unity by President Nelson Mandela, who named her as Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in 1995. Her leadership in this position was central to one of the first human ancestor repatriations to Africa, this being the return of Sara Baartman to South Africa from France's Musée de l'Homme, and her subsequent reburial and memorialisation in her homeland in the Eastern Cape. She currently serves as South Africa's ambassador to Sweden.
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Mansell George Upham is a researcher, writer, historian and jurist specializing in South African colonial history. He read French and English at the University of Stellenbosch (1977-1980). Thereafter he graduated with an LL.B (Stellenbosch 1984). Admitted as advocate (1988), he represented South Africa as diplomat in Tokyo, Japan (1991-1994). A champion of indigenous rights and Khoe/San renaissance, he spearheaded the campaign to repatriate the unburied Saartje Baartman (1995) becoming legal advisor and representative in South Africa and the UN (Geneva) for the Griqua National Conference of SA and other Khoe/San representative groups (1995-2000).
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Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki (born July 1, 1957) is an investment banker and politician, who served as the Edo State Governor from 2016 - 2024. He attended the University of Ibadan, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Classics. He later left Nigeria for the United States to attend Columbia University and Pace University in New York, where he obtained an MBA in Finance and International Business. In 1995, Godwin Obaseki founded Afrinvest West Africa Limited (formerly Securities Transactions & Trust Company Limited (SecTrust), which has grown to become one of the most reputable investment banking and management firms in Nigeria. As Edo State Governor, Obaseki engaged in numerous socio-economic development projects and policies, attracted private sector investment and supported and promoted theadoption of ICT in everyday life. In 2019, he hosted the sixth session of the Benin Dialogue Group, with a keen focus on advancing the plans to establish Edo Museum of West African Art - a royal museum that would facilitate a permanent display and reunite Benin belongings that had been dispersed around the world with the community of origin. Sir David Adjaye led a discussion concerning the architectural vision for the museum in Benin City, and Obaseki announced the creation of a museum trust that would be responsible for the operations of the musem, and be a custodian for the collection. The development of the museum later emerged conflicting visions around the purpose of the museum and ownership rights.
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Kofi Annan (8 April 1938 - 18 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat and statesman. He served as the the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (January 1997 to December 2006) and was the founder and chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation. In 2001, he and the United Nations (UN) were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Kofi Annan joined the UN system in 1962 as an administrative and budget officer with the World Health Organization in Geneva.He later served with the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, the UN Emergency Force (UNEF II) in Ismailia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, and in various senior posts in New York dealing with human resources, budget, finance, and staff security. Immediately before becoming Secretary-General, he was Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping. As Secretary-General of the UN he was a constant advocate for human rights, the rule of law, the Millennium Development Goals and Africa, and sought to bring the organisation closer to the global public by forging ties with civil society, the private sector and other partners. During his tenure he created the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, adopted UN’s first-ever counter-terrorism strategy, and encouraged Member States to embrace their inherent “responsibility to protect” people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. His hands-on diplomatic approach resulted in him intervening personally in matters of global discord. In the 1990s, racial tensions were triggered over the display of an African man's remains in a Spanish museum. Annan directly and repeatedly engaged with the Mayor of Banyoles and the curator of Darder Museum of Nature and Science to ensure that the dignity of the person derogatorily known as El Negro de Banyoles was restored, through the return and reburial of his remains in African soil. This became one of the first human ancestor return cases on the continent. In his latter years, Annan Mr. Annan became the founding Chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), which works for a food secure and prosperous Africa by promoting rapid, sustainable agricultural growth based on smallholder farmers. He also chaired the African Progress Panel until the end of 2017, which advocated at the highest level for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. He was a member of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders who work together for peace and human rights, and in 2013 was appointed its Chair.
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Kenneth Kaunda (28 April 1924 - 17 June 2021) was an educator, interpreter, African Liberation Struggle stalwart and politician who led Zambia to independence in 1964. He served as the country’s president until 1991, when he humbly conceded to multi-party elections. His administration (1964 – 1991) prioritized the repatriation of Zambia's colonial archives and cultural heritage to establish a national identity after independence.
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