The Resistance and Liberation Heritage Route (RLHR) project is a national memory project aimed at commemorating, celebrating, educating, promoting, preserving, conserving and providing a durable testament of South African’s road to independence.

The project draws on heritage as testimony and depiction of South Africa’s journey from the first contact with colonists to the attainment of democracy through a series of connected multi-dimensional sites at the local, provincial, national and international level.

This is done in a manner that promotes the values enshrined in the South African Constitution namely; a participatory process of identification and documentation of significant sites, formal protection and management of heritage resources and the interpretation and commemoration of the liberation struggle.

It uses an integrated approach to leverage the potential of resistance and liberation heritage to help demonstrate a shared past and shared future, and tap into the socio-economic potential of this heritage for the benefit of different communities, by harnessing multi-disciplinary strengths of diverse government and other sectors.

Exile Repatriation Homecoming: Bringing Home our Fallen Heroes and Heroines

More on the Exile Repatriation Project

In his State of the Nation Address in February 2020, the President of South Africa, His Excellency Mr. Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, made a significant commitment to the nation, particularly to the families of those who lost loved ones in exile, by pledging to exhume and repatriate the mortal remains of prominent liberation struggle figures. These figures include, Advocate Duma Nokwe and Florence Mophosho from Zambia, as well as Basil February from Zimbabwe. This presidential commitment highlighted a comprehensive and inclusive approach to repatriation, aligned with the National Policy on the Repatriation and Restitution of Human Remains and Heritage Objects.

The Exile Repatriation Project is led by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), in close partnership with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD), and the Department of Defence and Military Veterans (DMV). The Project is implemented by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA), the Missing Persons Task Team (MPTT) with the support of the Freedom Park and the National Heritage Council.

The adoption and subsequent Cabinet endorsement of the National Policy in 2021 has created an enabling environment for the allocation of necessary resources and the implementation of structured processes. These processes include the identification and exhumation of graves, and the dignified repatriation of the remains of liberation struggle veterans and other individuals who died in exile, both in neighbouring countries and further abroad.

The Implementation Plan adopts a phased, country-to-country approach, beginning with stakeholder consultations at the individual, family, and community levels, and extending to national and international coordination. Each phase culminates in the formal handover, reburial, and memorialisation of the repatriated individuals.

To optimise time and resources, the Plan proposes group repatriations by country rather than individual repatriations. Consequently, the repatriation of Nokwe, Mophosho, and February has been integrated into the first group repatriation efforts from Zambia and Zimbabwe under the Exile Repatriation Project, which marks the official launch of this initiative.

This repatriation programme forms part of a broader national commitment to honour those who sacrificed their lives in the fight for freedom, ensuring that they are returned to their homeland with the dignity and respect they so rightfully deserve. The initiative is being undertaken in close collaboration with regional governments, historians, and affected communities to ensure a respectful and culturally appropriate process.

As South Africa commemorates 30 years of freedom and democracy, the government continues to make significant strides in advancing the Resistance and Liberation Heritage Route project. Central to this initiative is the repatriation of the human remains of liberation heroes and heroines who perished in exile an endeavour firmly grounded in the principles and guidelines of the 2021 National Policy on Repatriation and Restitution of Human Remains and Heritage Objects.

To fill out the Repatriation Request Form, click here: Repatriation Request form | SAHRIS

Image: Sean O’Toole

We coordinate the management of the Liberation Heritage Route, demonstrate the price of freedom and mainstream the Heritage of Resistance and Liberation in all relevant areas of policy, programming, economy and infrastructure.

By participating in the African Liberation Heritage Programme and providing national input in the world heritage agenda, we contribute to the Africa we want and a better world that values the place of Africa’s road to freedom in the search for a better world; while supporting sustainable development goals.

By supporting the commemorative and repatriation events, we keep the living heritage of unsung martyrs, heroes and heroines of the liberation struggle alive to present and future generations.

Cumulatively, this work supports various National Development Plan outcomes including: Social Cohesion; Education; Mainstreaming of Integrated Planning; Sustainable Settlements; Conservation; International Relations; Increased Economic Participation and Infrastructure that Supports Economic Activity.