The remains of two Namibian political prisoners, who died on Robben Island, have been exhumed in Cape Town.

Festus Nehale and Simon Niilenge died while serving prison sentences during the apartheid era.

Their remains will now undergo scientific examination before being repatriated to Namibia.

A South African forensic anthropologist, Dr Kavita Lakha, will lead the scientific examination of the remains of former Robben Island political prisoners Simon Niilenge and Festus Nehale. 

It was a sombre day for the families of Namibian liberation heroes Festus Nehale and Petrus Niilenge, as they visited their graves in Cape Town ahead of the exhumation and repatriation of their remains.

The two men died while imprisoned on Robben Island.