Cape Town - Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has ordered the UCT to ensure all Stuurman family members were involved in the reburial of the remains of nine individuals kept at the institution.
The skeletal remains were unethically obtained by the university’s medical school between 1926 and 1931.
They were found during an archiving audit of the university’s skeletal collection in 2017 by the institution’s Dr Victoria Gibbon, the curator of human remains at the faculty of health sciences.
A 2019 statement from the university said nine of the individuals were brought to the university by a medical student from Kruisrivier Farm, Sutherland, in the early 20th century.
The remains were scheduled for reburial in Sutherland in the Northern Cape in September 2020, but a row erupted when two sections of the Stuurman family laid claim to them.
There is disagreement over the final resting place of the remains with a group of descendants approaching the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to put brakes on the burial in Sutherland.
This has prompted DA MP Denis Joseph to write to Mthethwa to enquire whether his department has been advised or was involved in the Stuurman family dispute in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape over human remains that are at UCT regarding where the final resting of the remains should be.
Joseph also asked what role his department was playing in assisting with resolving the dispute and asked details of the department’s research findings and position in the origin of the Stuurman name.
In his written response, Mthethwa said his ministry had been advised of the Stuurman family dispute and was being regularly updated on the developments.
He said he wrote to the University of Cape Town in December 2021.
Mthethwa “asked the university to ensure that all the Stuurman family members be involved in the reburial of the Sutherland Nine human remains, and in particular, that the House of Klaas and Dawid Stuurman as represented by Mr. Edmund Stuurman is part of the decision making about where the remains are to be buried”.
Joseph also asked whether universities, museums or other private institutions were in possession of human remains, and what policy and processes were in place for the families of such human remains to achieve closure in a dignified manner.
According to Mthethwa, a number of universities and museums in the public and private sectors were in possession of human remains.
He said the department has developed a national policy on the repatriation and restitution of human remains and heritage objects to deal with the issue.
“As part of the implementation of this policy, the department, together with the South African Heritage Resources Agency is establishing the repatriation and restitution office (RRO), which will directly deal with the repatriation and restitution of human remains and heritage objects.
“Additionally, the Minister has appointed an advisory committee that will provide expert advice on this matter to the RRO and the department,” Mthethwa said.
Cape Times