mummy ethekwini

eThekwini Municipality Speaker, Weziwe Thusi and Egyptian Ambassador Ahmed Taher Elfadly at the city hall during their meeting to discuss the repatriation of the Egyptian mummy.

South African museum’s ancient mystery mummy heads to Egypt

This SA city’s museum is repatriating an ancient Egyptian mummy that mysteriously found its way into the country more than 100 years ago.

mummy ethekwini

eThekwini Municipality Speaker, Weziwe Thusi and Egyptian Ambassador Ahmed Taher Elfadly at the city hall during their meeting to discuss the repatriation of the Egyptian mummy.

The repatriation of an SA based Egyptian mummy, Peten-Amun, is underway, eThekwini Municipalty speaker Weziwe Thusi confirmed to Egyptian Ambassador Ahmed Taher Elfadly recently.

The mummy was first discovered in the Durban Natural Science Museum’s inventory during the move from the Old Town Hall, now the Post Office, to the City Hall in 1910. It was found with only the undated label ‘Captain Myers’ attached to it. 

Upon investigation, it was found that Major William Joseph Myers was a British soldier who arrived in Durban to fight in the Anglo-Boer war and was killed four days after his arrival. In the absence of further information and the mystery surrounding it, the arrival and presence of the mummy in Durban was ruled a result of direct colonialism.

Thusi said all vestiges of colonialism should be “aggressively removed” from the country.

 “There is quite a lot that was stolen from this continent and it is incumbent on us to correct this wrong. Currently in European museums there are still innumerable artefacts that were taken from Africa and have been displayed for centuries,” Thusi said.

“As a result, Europeans have made a fortune from this criminal activity. We need to be part of the African crusade that seeks to return what was taken forcefully from this continent and this is exactly what we are doing in eThekwini,” she said.

 “We know the history of this country and the inhumane acts that were associated with our erstwhile minority rulers. Like their European counterparts, they terrorised Africans. It is not surprising that this mummy found its way to our country. This is the new dispensation and there must be a serious paradigm shift in the manner with which we do things with. I commend the good work that the city has done for us to be where we are today regarding this Egyptian heritage,” Thusi said.

 Elfadly commended the eThekwini municipality for the strides it has made regarding the repatriation.

 “South Africa is indispensable in the continent and should be commended for always providing leadership on many issues. This is one example and I thank the country for understanding how sacred these mummies are to our culture as Egyptians. I believe the position taken by the country on this matter is going to cement our relationship,” he said. 

The mummy is expected to be back on Egyptian soil before the end of the first quarter of 2022.