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The return of the artefacts was the result of collaborative research led by Professor McGregor.

Khama III Memorial Museum’s Scobie Lekhutile explains the new display to guests at the official launch, including Kgosi Kgolo Khama IV (former President Ian Khama) and the UK High Commissioner, alongside JoAnn McGregor (Credit: Dr Keletso Gaone Setlhabi).

Research informing return of museum collections

Professor of Human Geography JoAnn McGregor has played a key role in the repatriation of 45 objects from a nineteenth-century ethnographic collection at Brighton Museum to Botswana.

Collected in Botswana in the 1890s by missionary William Charles Willoughby during the reign of Kgosi Khama III, the artefacts were donated to Brighton Museum in 1899.

Their return was the result of collaborative research undertaken through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded Making African Connections project (2019–2021), led by Professor McGregor. The project brought together museum partners, researchers and community organisations to study and digitise 600 objects from colonial-era African collections.

It entailed detailed provenance research and fostered collaboration between Brighton & Hove Museums, Botswana’s Khama III Memorial Museum, the then Chief Ethnologist at the Botswana National Museum and Brighton-based Black heritage groups.

This work led to a formal request for the return of clothing, accessories, hunting implements and domestic objects, while also contributing to wider discussions around the decolonisation of museums.

New exhibition and celebrations mark return

In the final week of May 2026, the 45 items were formally returned to Botswana, marked by a two-day international summit hosted by Khama III Memorial Museum. Panels on day two were convened collaboratively by the Universities of Sussex and Botswana and included scholars and curators from across the Southern African region.

The return of the belongings was accompanied by cultural festivities and the launch of a new permanent exhibition display. It was widely celebrated in Botswana, including in national media, as a “great return” and attracted widespread coverage from national television and other media outlets.

For Gase Kediseng, Curator at Khama III Memorial Museum, this was more than a physical return of items. It was a historic act of restoration, reconnecting objects with living knowledge, memory and cultural practice.

Professor JoAnn McGregor said: “As the exhibition panel text explained, repatriation is not just about the return of objects, but a ‘restoration’ of cultural identity and heritage.

“The return of these belongings to their place of origin was the outcome of a long research journey and it was my privilege to be part of the cultural celebrations and to co-organise some of the summit panels.

“Brighton Museum’s decision to repatriate the collection is agenda-setting not only for Botswana, but the wider UK museum sector. It was deeply moving to see youth and other local community members so enthusiastic about the return and I hope this case can encourage other UK museums to see the positive benefits of repatriating ethnographic and missionary collections.”

Find out more

Learn more about JoAnn’s work, including the underpinning research on decolonising initiatives relating to African collections in museums and small archives in Britain, as well as the challenges and opportunities surrounding UK–African collaborations from the perspective of restoring collections to their places of origin.

You can also read more about the importance of the collection’s return and explore The Making African Connections Digital Archive, which brings together textual, audio-visual and other materials relating to three colonial-era African collections.

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