King’s head to be returned to Ghana

Preparations are under way to return the head of a Ghanaian king executed by the Dutch in the 1830s for burial.


The head of Badu Bonsu II, leader of the Ashanti tribe, is kept under formaldehyde as part of Leiden University’s anatomical collection.
Writer Arthur Japin, who came across the head while researching a book, said in October that the head was taken by a Dutch general in retaliation for the killing of two Dutch emissaries.
Ghana says that unless the head is buried, the king’s body cannot rest and his clan will be stigmatised.

For the BBC report, click here

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