Lost Ugandan artefacts return after 50 years

Uganda is preparing to turn museums into something larger than storehouses of old objects.

On May 18, Jinja City will host the country’s 2026 International Museum Day celebrations. It will be an event the government says will place culture, tourism and national unity at the centre of Uganda’s development agenda.

The announcement was made in a press statement presented by Martin Mugarra Bahinduka, Minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, at the Uganda Media Centre.

This year’s global theme, “Museums: Uniting a Divided World,” will be paired with Uganda’s national theme, “Museums as Bridges of Unity and Shared Heritage.”

Together, the themes reflect an increasingly strategic view of museums: not merely as buildings that preserve the past, but as public spaces that can shape the future.

For Uganda, where culture, language and history stretch across many communities, that message carries weight. Officials say museums can become places for dialogue, reflection and reconciliation, spaces where contested histories are understood rather than ignored.

“The ministry, through the Department of Museums and Monuments, is using this platform to raise awareness on museums as safe spaces for dialogue and mutual understanding for one another,” the minister said.

“Museum spaces also offer learning, reflection and offer space where voices can be heard. Hence, cooperation and peace among peoples.”

The celebrations are also tied to broader global and national ambitions. The government linked this year’s programme to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those focused on sustainable tourism, peaceful societies and international partnerships.

Officials also said the event aligns with the African Union Agenda 2063, which emphasises cultural identity and shared values.

That framing matters because tourism has become one of Uganda’s most important economic sectors.

According to the ministry, tourism generated $1.3 billion in 2024, equivalent to about sh5 trillion, and created more than 800,000 employment opportunities. Those jobs range from hotel workers and tour guides to transport operators, craft makers and food suppliers.

In practical terms, culture is no longer only about memory. It is also about income.

“The celebration of IMD therefore explains the important role of tourism development in driving economic growth by utilising the museums as a springboard for innovation and harnessing cultural tourism for poverty reduction in our communities,” the minister noted.

Government also used the announcement to highlight a growing campaign to recover Ugandan cultural artefacts taken abroad decades ago.

The minister said Uganda has, through partnerships with museums in Europe and Africa, become one of the few countries to secure the return of several heritage items within a relatively short time.

These include objects returned from the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in the United Kingdom, the late John Wilson’s Karamojong collection from Kenya, and recently repatriated artefacts from the Netherlands.

Those Dutch-held items were once owned by Mr Cor Blok, who collected them between 1965 and 1967 while working at Butabika Hospital as a psychiatrist. One of the 43 returned artefacts was unveiled during the briefing.

“These artefacts will be showcased in Jinja and therefore invite the public to participate and see these artefacts that have been in the Netherlands for over 50 years,” the statement said, adding that research would be undertaken to verify their communities of origin.

The programme leading to the main celebration stretches beyond a single day.
On May 5, government plans a public dialogue during the Third National Cultural Heritage Conference at Hotel Africana under the theme “Urbanisation Without Eraser: Architectural Heritage in Uganda’s Changing Urban Centres.”

A Heritage Marathon will follow on May 10, starting at Kitante Primary School in Kampala. School heritage quiz competitions for primary and secondary learners are scheduled for May 14 and 15 in Jinja at the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training College.

Heritage outreach programmes, exhibitions and corporate social responsibility activities will take place in Jinja on May 16 and 17.

The main celebration on May 18 will begin with a band march from the Uganda Railway Museum to Jinja Rugby Grounds.