Policy
African Voices Archive
Nosmot Gbadamosi
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Dr. Purity Kiura is currently a Chief Research Scientist in archaeology and heritage. She is a former Director of Antiquities, Sites and Monuments (2014 - 2021) at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). Her academic records include an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Geology at the University of Nairobi (1997), a graduate in Masters of Arts (2002) and Doctorate Degree in Anthropology specializing in Archaeology (2006) from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. In her capacity as a senior administrator at NMK, in the Directorate of Antiquities, Sites and Monuments between 2014-2021, she was in-charge of the day-to-day operations, personnel, and management of the directorate and reported directly to the Director General. Her responsibilities included the overall management and conservation of all the cultural and natural heritage resources within Kenya. This included overseeing the surveying, mapping and gazzettment of these sites, development of exhibitions, and directing and producing educational and public programs in all the museums in Kenya. She was also responsible of all the revenue streams, budgeting and monitoring within the museum’s public spaces. Moreover, she was responsible in fostering partnerships and collaborations as well as ensuring good relations within and outside Kenya. She oversaw continuous achievement of the institution through international conventions in matters heritage particularly those that Kenya has signed with UNESCO. In this role, she was also responsible for overseeing the restitution of Kenyan cultural heritage. As a Senior Research Scientist in the Archaeology Section, Dr. Kiura’s research interests and ongoing works include projects in the study of human origins, the evolution of technology as well as human subsistence and settlement patterns. In addition, she has continued to conduct research in the study of modern peoples and their usage of the landscapes and environments in East Africa.
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Nosmot Gbadamosi is a multimedia journalist and the writer of Foreign Policy’s weekly Africa Brief. She has reported on human rights, the environment, and sustainable development from across the African continent.
Affiliation(s): Foreign Policy (Africa Brief)
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Ore Disu is the Director of the Pavilion at the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), overseeing heritage initiatives, research, and exhibitions. With a decade of experience, she has driven programs related to public policy, social enterprises, and the creative economy. Her work spans partnerships with organizations like the Ford Foundation, Goethe Institute, and more. Ore holds degrees in Architecture and Urban Development Practice from prestigious institutions.
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Prof. Dr. Rudo Sithole is a highly experienced museologist and director in the heritage sector with a passionate focus on African heritage and its restitution. She founded AFRIMUHERE, an association for African museums dedicated to heritage restitution. Dr. Sithole is a key member of the African Union's experts working group on restitution and played a pivotal role in crafting the Common African Position on Restitution. She recently led a comprehensive restitution baseline study across 16 African countries for the Open Society Foundations. Dr. Sithole is an internationally recognized advocate and speaker on African restitution, with extensive experience in directing museums and managing continental museum associations. She holds a PhD, a Master's degree, and BSc degrees in the natural sciences.
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Kodzo Gavua is an archaeologist and ethnographer who holds a PhD and a Master of Arts degrees from the University of Calgary, Canada. He also earned a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Archaeology and Philosophy from the University of Ghana. Kodzo serves as an Associate Professor of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon, and researches the effects of cross-cultural interactions on Africa’s cultural heritage and economic development. He engages in public archaeology, anthropology of tourism, economic anthropology, art history, material culture studies, and museum studies. Gavua established and coordinates the A.G. Leventis Digital Resource Centre for African Culture at the University of Ghana.
Affiliation(s): University of Ghana - Legon, Ghana Focal Team on Restitution and Reparation
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Dr. Kwame Opoku is an unwavering voice in the development and distribution of African knowledge on the subject of restitution in Africa. He was until retirement Legal Adviser at the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV) where he subsequently served as Ombudsman. He previously served as Deputy Legal Adviser in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Opoku served as Legal Adviser to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) as well as the Commission on the Status of Women and various Preparatory Committees for UN Conferences such as United Nations Conference for the Promotion of International Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (UNPICPUNE), Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing. Opoku was a member of the experts commission that assisted Bénédicte Savoy and Felwine Sarr to produce the Sarr-Savoy report on restitution.
Affiliation(s): United Nations
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Published Work: Foreign Gods in Vienna – Addressing the Exhibition in Leopold Museum
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Ekpo Okpo Eyo (8 July 1931 – 28 May 2011) is a pre-eminent name to know when looking to understand the intersection of heritage, restitution, independence and society in Africa. He was a Nigerian scholar mostly known for his work on the archeology of Nigeria. He worked at the interface of archeology, anthropology, and art history, and he was actively involved in and spent many years presiding the federal and national agencies of antiquities and museums in Nigeria. He has been described as a 'giant pillar of Nigeria's museums'. Ekpo Eyo served on UNESCO’s Committee on the creation of the Convention on the Illicit Transfer of Cultural Property (1970) and the Preservation of World Cultural Property (1974).
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Published Work: Primitivism and Other Misconceptions of African Art, April 1982
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Dr Frezer Getachew Haile is an experienced communications strategist and foreign policy expert with a decade of experience advising public sector and international organisations in Africa, Europe and Asia. Dr Haile is currently a strategic adviser at Panterra, a boutique consultancy firm, helping clients navigate complicated, transnational challenges of a political nature, involving policyissues, litigation, investments, elections or major crises. Prior to this, he served as a senior advisor at the Ethiopian Embassy in London, during which time he was responsible for the Ethiopian Government’s work on restitution in the UK and led its negotiations with a variety of UK cultural institutions, including the British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum and British Library, amongst others. He regularly speaks publicly on issues of heritage and restitution and holds a doctorate in politics and geography from King’s College London.
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Ciraj Rassool is Senior Professor of History at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), where he also directs the African Programme in Museum and Heritage Studies, as well as the Remaking Societies, Remaking Persons Supranational Forum. He was one of the principal investigators of the international collaborative research projects, ‘Action for Restitution to Africa’, and ‘Re-connecting “Objects”: Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and beyond Museums.’ He is a member of the new South African National Advisory Board for Restitution and Repatriation. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the study of the Von Luschan Collection at the State Museums of Berlin and of the Advisory Board of the Alexander Ecker Collection at Albert Ludwig University, Freiburg, Germany. He served on the boards of the District Six Museum, Iziko Museums of South Africa, the South African Heritage Resources Agency and the National Heritage Council. He also previously chaired the Scientific Committee of the International Council of African Museums (AFRICOM) and was a member of the High Level Advisory Committee on Museums for UNESCO.
Affiliation(s): University of the Western Cape, State Museums of Berlin
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Published Work: Restitution versus Repatriation: Terminology and Concepts Matter
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