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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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Abiti Adebo Nelson is the co-investigator on the Un-archived horrors of slavery at Fort Patiko: Rethinking the historical narratives of slavery and slave trade in post-conflict northern Uganda project. He is also a curator for Ethnography and History at the Uganda National Museum. He is currently a PhD Candidate of History at the University of Western Cape in South Africa. Abiti has co-curated exhibitions on ‘Road to Reconciliation’, the Milk exhibition project in Uganda and Switzerland; and the recent ‘Unseen Archive of Idi Amin’ that opened at Uganda Museum 18th May 2019. Abiti’s research focuses on community memorials, restitution, ethnographic museums and transitional justice.
Affiliation(s): Uganda National Museum
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Published Work: Handling collections in the museum against cultural ethics; The Uganda Museum’s Tribal Representation: Colonial Repositories and Community Reconciliation in Uganda
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Dr. Kiprop Lagat is the Director of Culture in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage. He holds a PhD in Anthropology and a master’s degree in Museology from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom. His PhD thesis was on the memorialization of the 1998 Nairobi terror attack on the United States of America Embassy in Nairobi. Dr. Lagat has over 20 years of experience in the heritage sector and has participated in numerous projects focused on the research, documentation, preservation and curation of cultural practices and their associated heritage collections. He has previously worked as the Assistant Director in charge of the Nairobi National Museum and as a Principal Research Scientist in the Department of Cultural Heritage at the National Museums of Kenya. As Director of Culture, his responsibility is mainly to coordinate policies and programmes aimed at the preservation, promotion, and revitalization of Kenya’s rich and diverse cultural heritage resources for nationhood and sustainable development.
Affiliation(s): Director of Culture in the Ministry of Gender, Culture, The Arts and Heritage, National Museums of Kenya
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Published Work: Representations of Nationhood in the Displays of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK): The Nairobi National Museum
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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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Emmanuel Ndiema is a prominent archaeologist and senior researcher at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), currently serving as the Head of Earth Sciences. He is actively involved in the documentation and management of Kenya's cultural and natural heritage, with a strong focus on community engagement and the repatriation of cultural artifacts. He is currently part of the working group that is developing a framework for restitution in Kenya.
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Olugbile Holloway is the current Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM). He holds a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Kent, and an MBA from the University of Buckingham. He also received training in Psychotherapy from the Human Givens College. These learning experience shaped Holloway's profound understanding of human and consumer behavior and how this behavior has the power to shape and influence narratives. He applied this acumen to the advertising and marketing sector, which he served in for over a decade. His appointment to the NCMM is intended to bolster strategy, innovation and excellence. As the newly appointed Director of the NCMM, Holloway oversaw the return of 119 Benin Bronzes from the Netherlands - the largest single return of Benin belongings to date. In 2025, he also entered into a five year agreement with the Oba of Benin, for NCMM to manage returned Benin Bronzes on the Oba's behalf. He is committed to sustainably raising funds through local contributions, and offering support through staffing for royal museums.
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Alhaji Lai Raufu Mohammed is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Information and Culture for an unprecedented eight years (2015–2023) under President Muhammadu Buhari. He studied at Obafemi Awolowo University graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor’s degree in French with second class (upper) Honours. He also holds law degrees with second class (upper) Honours from the University of Lagos and the Nigeria Law School, Lagos. He worked as a graduate assistant with the University of Ilorin in 1978 and joined the Nigeria Ports Authority as Senior Public Relations Officer in 1978 rising to the position of Corporate Secretary in 1988. He co-founded the legal firm of Edu & Mohammed in 1989, serving as Senior Partner between 1989 and 1999. In 1999 he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 1999. He later served for several years as the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria and later the All Progressive Congress. He is a member of the Nigeria Bar Association and a Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations. As the Minister of Information and Culture, Mohammed was instrumental in making restitution efforts visible, by documenting and entering repatriated and return belongings into the public imaginary and sphere as a matter of policy.
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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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