80 of King Moshoeshoe's Belongings

Between 2019 - 2026, Open Restitution Africa (ORA) set out to map and document the processes that underpin the restitution of African heritage material from the perspective of Africans actively engaged in restitution work. Data gathered from 2023 - 2025 yielded a first-of-its-kind qualitative dataset comprising 25 in-depth restitution case studies from 13 African countries. Collated through a bespoke research methodology that prioritised oral history and the lived experiences of African communities, ORA worked with case study researchers from various countries to document how restitution happens and who or what is involved in moving restitution forward at a grassroots level. The result is a data set that encompasses 200 years of African restitution efforts structured into a series of ‘events’ - consolidated moments, occurrences, and/or activities related to the restitution of a belonging or human ancestor within each case study. It is designed to offer a comparative and synthesized analysis of the processes that underpin the restitution of African material cultural heritage. It also serves as evidence-based that can influence future decision-making around restitution structures, policies, and governance frameworks. The case studies are drawn from Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This dataset focuses on the Permanent Loan of King Moshoeshoe's Belongings. King Moshoeshoe was the founding Chief of the Basotho Nation. The collection referred to in this case study comprises 80 out of 515 of his belongings. In 2017, Lesotho's Director of Culture, ’Mats’osane Molibeli conducted a short study on the 80 belongings at the British Museum. Thereafter she initiated efforts to have the belongings permanently loaned as a foundational collection for the Lesotho National Museum and Art Gallery (still under construction). This case study tracks the ideation and negotation of the permanent loan, the factors that led to their stagnation, and recent efforts to revive civic interest in this demand, and in resitution as a whole in Lesotho.