The government says the repatriation of the remains of two former political prisoners Simon Niilenge and Festus Nehale from Cape Town, South Africa, is about restoring dignity, reconnecting families with their ancestors and addressing a painful chapter in the country's liberation history.

Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture Sanet Steenkamp shared these sentiments when she arrived in Cape Town today.
Dr Steenkamp will, alongside her South African counterpart Gayton Mackenzie, officiate at the official handover ceremony on Wednesday. 

Secure packaging of the ancestral remains and casts was conducted at the Iziko Museum in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Minister Steenkamp arrived in Cape Town to officially receive the remains on behalf of the Namibian government.

"The history has been written by people, but it is the two ex-political prisoners who died in a foreign country. Today we have the honour with their families to have them repatriated to Namibia and to have them have a dignified funeral. So it's also about restoring national identity and dignity, but it's also about healing because for their families, they lived for years with the absence of their loved ones in their presence and in their midst. Many of them have memories; many don't. So in essence, it's also about family reconciliation and family closure. I think that is an aspect that we can never forget. Government can provide the legal and the policy frameworks and processes, but we must never forget that at the centre of it all, we have the human beings, and those are the families and the loved ones, the traditional authorities." 

Before the official ceremony, family members visited the Iziko Museum to witness the secure preparation of their loved ones, including the 84 ancestral remains.
The remains are expected to arrive at Hosea Kutako International Airport on Friday.