Following a successful repatriation of remains of two Namibian liberation heroes, who died at the then notorious Robben Island Prison, has inspired South Africa to perform a similar programme.
A reburial ceremony, to honour the sacrifices of the country's liberation struggle icons, will be held at the Heroes Acre tomorrow, ahead of the Heroes Day commemoration on Wednesday.
The remains of former Robben Island political prisoners Festus Nehale and Simon Petrus Niilenge, along with 84 ancestral remains, have finally arrived at the Hosea Kutako International Airport this morning.
The Chairperson of the Council of Traditional Leaders, Immanuel |Gaseb has highlighted that for the families of Nehale and Niilenge, this is a homecoming marked by both relief and grief.
Eighty-four ancestral remains, alongside those of two former Robben Island political prisoners, Festus Nehale and Simon Niilenge, are expected to arrive at the Hosea Kutako International Airport today.
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.
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.
