Kinshasa, September 6th, 2026 (CPA) – A delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s diaspora, led by a Congolese deputy, has visited the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels on Saturday as part of a project to repatriate to Kinshasa the remains of Congolese nationals that have been held in Belgium since colonial times, a parliamentary source revealed on Sunday. ‘During my visit to Brussels, I went to the museum of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. I saw more than 500 remains of our Congolese brothers and sisters, kept there in boxes, like collectables. This is no longer a historical issue. It is no longer about science. It is a human issue. It is our flesh. It is our blood. Generally speaking, these are human remains from DRC dating back nearly a century, which are still being kept in Belgium to this day,” has declared Jean-Jacques Mbungani, a Congolese deputy. “At the end of this visit, I told myself: at this very moment, everything must change. Behind these numbers lie names – fathers, mothers, even traditional leaders who defended our land to the death. Ancestors torn from their families, taken away without their consent during colonisation, sometimes beheaded, studied to justify racist theories. Imagine their souls, far from their homeland for over 100 years. Imagine their families who have never been able to mourn. This pain must end,” he has said.
Support for the return of ancestral remains to their homeland
Furthermore, the Congolese deputy has called for support for the ‘AfriqHope’ institute, which has launched the project ‘The Path Home: They Must Return Home’, so that the Belgian and Congolese governments take action to ensure the dignified repatriation of these remains to their land of origin in DRC. “I wholeheartedly support this project, which is a noble cause championed by AfriqHope and its President, Leaty Babin. ‘The Path Home’ is not just about remembrance; it is about love, respect and truth. It is about restoring to our ancestors what was stolen from them: their dignity. Dignity for the memory of our ancestors. Dignity for DRC. After so many years in exile, let us help them find their way home,” has maintened Mbungani, an elected representative from the Budjala territory in South Ubangi province.