Thomas Fues, 12 June 2026
A recent report by the Culturebene portal in Cameroon (PDF file below) offers hope that the government there is now getting serious about the repatriation of human remains and cultural belongings from Germany. It is reported that Culture Minister Bidoung Mkpatt has granted the Maka community permission to recover the remains of six ancestors. These were looted by Germans in 1905 and have been stored in the Anatomical Collection of the University of Freiburg since 1907.
Visit by the Restitution Committee
Petra Olschowski, Minister for Science in Baden-Württemberg, has also given her approval. The preparations for the repatriation were significantly supported by Prof Albert Gouaffo (Université de Dschang), Dr Richard Tsogang Fossi (Technical University of Berlin and Université de Dschang) and Prof Andreas Mehler (University of Freiburg). The Cameroonian Restitution Committee is expected to visit Freiburg in mid-July to oversee the physical transfer of the ancestral remains.
Provenance research
A key prerequisite for the repatriation of the Maka ancestors is the multi-year provenance research carried out by the University of Freiburg into human remains in the so-called Alexander Ecker Collection, in collaboration with the communities of origin. This research was funded by the German Lost Art Foundation.
Richard Tsogang Fossi and Andreas Mehler describe the crucial role of provenance research in the descendants’ claim for repatriation:
„A provenance research project carried out at the University of Freiburg between 2021 and 2023 confirmed the origin of the Maka skulls. In 2024, the Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT) organised field research in Cameroon, which revealed that the communities concerned had previously been unaware of the removal of their ancestors. A workshop in Atok, Cameroon, on 31 August 2024 led to a demand for the return of the skulls. In March 2025, a Cameroonian delegation travelled to Freiburg to make spiritual contact with their ancestors.“
Dialogic Thought Diary
As part of an 18-month project, the scholars Nadja Germann (University of Freiburg) and Albert Gouaffo (Université de Dschang) – as descendants of both perpetrators and victims – have examined the repatriation of the Maka ancestors against the backdrop of the entangled history of Cameroon and Germany. The stirring account of their sometimes controversial discussion is available online in German and French: “Restitution of Dignity? A Dialogic Reflection Diary on ‘Human Remains’, Colonialism and Humanity”.
A breakthrough?
The Freiburg repatriation could be a decisive step in German-Cameroonian efforts to come to terms with colonial history. Intensive discussions between Cameroon’s Restitution Committee and German institutions had already taken place last year. Under the leadership of the Federal Foreign Office on the German side, it had been agreed that, in a ‘first wave’, culturally appropriated artefacts from museums in Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich and Bremen should be returned. The initiative, which was scheduled for September 2025, could not take place, partly due to elections in Cameroon scheduled for the following month.
What about other communities?
The repatriation of the Maka ancestors from Freiburg has triggered mixed feelings among other Cameroonian communities. For example, representatives of the Nso are wondering when the Cameroonian government will grant permission for the return of their mother goddess, Ngonnso. They have been campaigning for this for over 30 years. There are no obstacles on the German side, as the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation formally approved the return four years ago.
The Nso have announced a ritual cleansing ceremony at the National Museum in Yaoundé on 26 June 2026 to support their claim for the return of Ngonnso.
National Framework Document
However, the situation could soon change fundamentally for all communities in Cameroon. During his meeting with the Maka community in April 2026, the Cameroonian Minister of Culture made a far-reaching announcement. As the Culturebene portal reports in the article cited above, he has commissioned the drafting of a national framework document for restitutions. This guideline, the Minister is quoted as saying, is intended to serve as a legal and diplomatic model for all other communities in Cameroon wishing to claim their heritage or ancestors still held abroad. No details were provided regarding the document’s completion date or any related dialogue processes within the country.
And Germany?
What options are available on the German side to support restitutions to Cameroon? In March 2026, the “Coordination Council for the Return of Cultural Property and Human Remains from Colonial Contexts” was established. Here, the federal government, the Länder and leading local authority associations work together under the leadership of the Federal Foreign Office. The chair is Minister of State Serap Güler; the secretariat is provided by the Federal Foreign Office. In the current critical situation, where things are moving on the part of the Cameroonian government, the Federal Foreign Office could proactively signal its interest in a comprehensive agreement being reached soon. The Federal Government could also offer the prospect of financial support for this, as the budget of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) this year includes funding of 600,000 euros for the restitution of cultural assets from colonial contexts.