Once a powerful local Congolese leader, Lusinga Iwa Ng’ombe fought against Belgian colonial invaders in the late 19th century.
He was such a thorn in their side that Émile Storms, who commanded the Belgian army in the area, predicted that his head “will eventually be brought to Brussels with a small mark – it will not get lost.” out of place in a museum.”
That’s exactly what happened. Mr.’s army Storms killed and beheaded Mr. Lusinga in 1884and his skull was eventually placed in a box at the Brussels-based Institute of Natural Sciences, along with more than 500 human remains retrieved from former Belgian colonies.
His descendants are fighting to retrieve his remains, their efforts coming amid a larger debate about Europe’s responsibility for colonial atrocities, reparations and Return plundered heritage.
Some European countries, including Belgium, have established guidelines for returning artifacts, but the process is slow.
The return of human remains, often illegally and cruelly seized by European invaders from colonial territories, ended up in private hands or museums, even even more serious. In Belgium, it has been stalled by a deep-seated reluctance to grapple with the country’s colonial legacy.
Belgium drafted The law provides for the compensation of human remainsbut it is likely to only face a vote in parliament after national elections in June. If passed, it would establish the second framework in Europe for harmonized refunds. Human remains are kept in public collections, following a similar law passed by France in December, which set strict conditions for returns.
King Leopold II of Belgium seized large swathes of Central Africa in the mid-1880s, including the modern Democratic Republic of Congo, which he exploited for personal gain with immense brutality. Although there are no official statistics, historians estimate that millions of people died under his rule, either from mass starvation and disease or killed by colonialists.
Today, however, that bloody chapter of Belgian history is not a mandatory part of the school curriculum, and some Belgians have defended Leopold as a foundational figure. There are many streets and parks named after him and squares decorated with his statues.
In 2020, King Philippe of Belgium expressed “deepest regret” about his country’s brutal past in a letter to the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of independence, but he did not issue an apology – which many feared would open the door for legal action by those seeking compensation.
The conquest of the Congo coincided with the birth of modern anthropology, as Belgian scientists were busy comparing the skulls of residents of the Belgian regions of Flanders and Wallonia. Maarten Couttenier, a historian and anthropologist at the African Museum, said colonial expeditions, which often included medical doctors, were seen as opening up new research opportunities. Belgian colonels were encouraged to bring back human remains to provide evidence of racial superiority.
The idea is to “measure the skull to determine race,” Mr. Couttenier said.
Mr. Couttenier, along with a colleague, Boris Wastiau, broke a decades-long silence about the acquisition and continued storage of the remains, known only to a handful of scientists, making the information public. through scientific conferences and exhibitions.
Then, the discovery of Mr. Lusinga’s skull came to light an article was published in 2018 in Paris Match, a French weekly newspaper. The news reached all the way to the Democratic Republic of Congo and to Thierry Lusinga, who claimed to be the great-grandson of Mr. Lusinga, the chief.
Spurred by this discovery, Thierry Lusinga wrote two letters to King Phillipe of Belgium, requesting the recovery of his ancestors’ remains, and a third letter to the Belgian Consulate in Lubumbashi, his hometown .
“We believe that the right to receive his remains or his remains belongs to our family,” he wrote in the first letter, viewed by The New York Times and dated October 10, 2018 . “We hope that this matter will take place amicably, in a situation of mutual forgiveness, to write a new page in history.”
He said he never received an answer.
In an interview with The Times, Mr. Lusinga expressed hope that the problem could still be resolved. “We ask for this to be done amicably,” he said. “We hope to sit around the table and try to talk about repatriation, and why not talk about compensation for our families.”
When asked for comment, the Royal Palace confirmed that it had received but not responded to one of Mr. Lusinga’s letters, “as it did not mention any postal address and was not sent directly.” Next, go to the palace.”
The letter was delivered to the palace by journalist Paris Match and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, which said the institute stated in writing that “the matter is being followed up and handled by the relevant authorities rigid”.
Questions about Mr. Lusinga’s skull have prompted Belgium to attempt a full inventory of human remains held by its agencies. In late 2019, scientists began locating them in museum and university storage spaces and tracing the origins of some of them.
More than a year after the project officially ended, the final report listing 534 human remains from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi was discreetly published online this year without informing some scientists working there or the public.
Nearly half of the remains were removed from the former colonies long after the Belgian government took over control from King Leopold.
One of the researchers who worked on the report, Lies Busselen, discovered that between 1945 and 1946, a colonial agent, Ferdinand Van de Ginste, ordered the exhumation of about 200 skulls from the graves. in the Kwango and Kwilu provinces of Congo.
Ms. Busselen also rediscovered the long-lost skull of Prince Kapampa, a local Congolese leader murdered in the 19th century, hidden in a closet at the Africa Museum.
Thomas Dermine, the Belgian foreign minister responsible for science policy, said in an interview that he was “surprised” by the number of human remains found in Belgian facilities. His office has drafted proposed legislation regulating human remains claims.
Bill also requires a formal request from a foreign government, which can claim compensation on behalf of groups that still have “active culture and traditions.” Similar to French law, the law also only allows compensation for funeral purposes.
Mr Dermine said that his administration had consulted with the authors of the inventory report – but they recommended that Belgium unconditionally repatriate all human remains in associated collections. The state is directly related to the country’s colonial past.
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo said it was surprised to learn the law was drafted “without consulting Congolese experts or the Congolese National Assembly.”
“Belgium cannot unilaterally set the criteria for compensation,” François Muamba, special adviser to the DRC president, said in written comments to The Times.
“Unfortunately, Belgium’s methods do not appear to have changed,” he added.
Fernand Numbi Kanyepa, a sociology professor at the University of Lubumbashi who heads a group researching the issue of reparations, said that the return of Mr. Lusinga’s skull was important for the entire Tabwa community, where he belongs.
“For us, an individual who has been killed but not buried cannot rest with the other spirits of their ancestors,” said Mr. Kanyepa, a member of the Tabwa community. “This is why we believe that, at all costs, Chief Lusinga’s skull must be returned to the community, even the family, for a burial worthy of a king.”
Thierry Lusinga, whose request was not considered legal under the draft law, said he felt there must be “something hidden behind” the failure to return the skull. “Perhaps Belgium doesn’t want to be accused of genocide,” he said. “Maybe Belgium doesn’t want to hear this story.”
His ancestor’s skull is still kept in the preservation room of the Institute of Natural Sciences. Institute authorities said that, at the request of the African Museum, the skull was moved from a communal box to a personal box as “a sign of respect”.
Aurelien Breeden Contributing reports from Paris.
