This week marks a significant moment in the history of our Faculty. Over the weekend of 24 - 26 November 2023, the sacred human remains of the Sutherland Nine will be returned to their community in Sutherland for appropriate reburial. These sacred remains, unethically removed from their graves and donated to UCT, have been held in our anatomy laboratories for almost a century. In this moment, we acknowledge our complicity in this act of violence. The Faculty ― alongside community members and leaders as well as local, provincial and national government officials ― humbly shares in the moment of their repatriation to a space amongst their kin. 

On Friday, 24 November 2023, the sacred human remains will finally leave the grounds of our campus on the first leg of a journey over three days. These people will be returned to their place of origin for the formal funeral and reburial on Sunday, 26 November 2023, in Sutherland. The reburial of these sacred human remains is the culmination of a journey begun in 2017 ―  to acknowledge their history and restore their dignity (you can find more information here). 

We have undertaken to memorialise this moment to serve as a tangible reminder of our Faculty’s past discriminatory and racist practices. This moment marks this time as a renewal, and source of healing and redress. We have created an open space of reflection on our campus: opposite the IDM Building. This space has been named by the family and approved by the UCT Council.  

Additionally, the Department of Human Biology ― in which the remains were housed and used for teaching and learning ― will rename two of its rooms that were originally named after Professor Drennan, who received the unethically-removed remains donated to UCT. To honour the memory of the Sutherland Nine ― and all people who have suffered great injustices in the name of research, teaching and learning ― the Anatomy Learning Centre is now called Khoesisoros Museum (meaning ‘human body’) and the Human Biology Learning Centre, Kusrusenhare Teaching Lab (meaning ‘building a human body’).  

We are deeply honoured that the formal naming of the two rooms and the reflective space will take place on the 24th in the presence of the descendants of those unethically removed from their place of rest. We hope that this will assist in restoring their dignity and give their descendants peace and healing (see the Motivation for the naming of the Garden of Remembrance). Please do visit these spaces. It is my hope that we can all experience moments of reflection and peace there. 

The programme on 24 November will thus be a solemn one. There will be approximately 100 guests on campus. The remains of the Sutherland Nine will be wrapped by Traditional Leaders in a sacred ceremony in the Anatomy Building from 5:00 to 13:00 SAST.  

From 14:00, a Guard of Honour (GoH), comprised of all staff and students, some in academic gowns and white coats or scrubs, will form in a gesture of gratitude to the spirit of these people whose sacred remains contributed to our learning and development as a Faculty. This GoH will start from the exit of the Anatomy Building parking area to their final departure from the Faculty precinct through the Groote Schuur Drive boom gate.  

We bow in our collective memory with deep reverence. We reaffirm to the communities amongst whom we serve, teach, learn and conduct research that this Faculty of Health Sciences is committed to the values of ethical research and respect for human dignity. Whether you will participate in the ceremonies or not, please value this space as sacred and observe the dignity of silence and respect.  

The story which we tell through these ceremonies will live on after we have departed. It becomes an indelible part of the fabric of who we were, who we are and who we promise to become in the service to all our people. In the spirit of ubuntu, we acknowledge that we are better because of those who have given themselves in vulnerability for our learning.  

#Khîb !nâ sâ re 
(Rest in peace)
Sida ||khoreba ge...
(This is our wish)
#Khîba da ge ra ||khoreba du.
(Peace is our wish for you.)
|Hao da ge nî.
(We will come together.)
|Guitsē
(One day)
||Khawa mûgus kōse
(Until we see each other again)
Aboxan di !hûb-aib !nâ
(In the world of the ancestors)
!Gâise !gû re
(Go well)

Kaise Gangans
Associate Professor Lionel Green-Thompson
Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences