South African ministers are calling on families to help identify the remains of anti-apartheid freedom fighters buried in Angola for repatriation.

The initiative aims to provide proper burials for those who died in exile, resolving a long-standing historical debt to the soldiers of the liberation struggle. Returning these remains allows families to find closure and ensures the state honors those who fought against the apartheid regime.

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie and Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga held a briefing in Pretoria to outline the second phase of the program [1]. The government is currently focusing on Angola, where many exile camps were historically located [1, 2].

Officials said that there are more than 400 possible graves that need to be identified [2]. Because many of these sites are in remote areas or lack detailed records, the government is relying on the knowledge of descendants and comrades to locate specific remains.

"We are calling on families to help identify the graves of our comrades so that we can bring them home," McKenzie said [2].

The ministers said that the process requires significant diplomatic and logistical coordination with neighboring states. McKenzie said the cooperation received from regional countries has been excellent and will enable the government to complete this second phase of repatriation [1].

The effort is part of a broader national project to document the history of the struggle and ensure that no fighter is forgotten in a foreign land. The government intends to provide a dignified return for those who spent their final days in camps across the border, a move seen as essential for national healing.

“We are calling on families to help identify the graves of our comrades so that we can bring them home.”

The repatriation effort underscores the South African government's ongoing attempt to institutionalize the memory of the liberation struggle. By focusing on Angola, the state is addressing the physical remnants of the exile experience, shifting the narrative from political victory to the personal and familial recovery of those lost during the conflict.