Sutherland Reburial

Following an archiving audit of the UCT Human Skeletal Collection in 2017, the university discovered that it had 11 skeletons in its collection that were unethically obtained by the institution in the 1920s. The university has acknowledged this past injustice, which forms part of its history. Nine of these individuals were brought to the university in the 1920s from Sutherland in the Northern Cape. UCT has been working with the community of Sutherland and affected families to return the skeletal remains of these nine individuals to their descendants. On 26 November 2023, remains of the nine individuals were reburied in Sutherland. This process has enabled the university to provide redress and social justice through science.