In a historic restitution ceremony held in Bujumbura, Germany's Ethnological Museum has officially returned a sacred 18th-century ceremonial shield to the Republic of Burundi. The shield, which belonged to a high-ranking Batwa elder, was taken during the German colonial occupation of East Africa and is decorated with rare patterns representing the cosmology and lineages of the Batwa people.
The return is part of a broader German initiative to address the legacy of colonial looting in the Great Lakes region. Burundian cultural officials stated that the shield will be housed in the National Museum of Gitega, where it will serve as a cornerstone for a new exhibition dedicated to Indigenous sovereignty and the preservation of Batwa cultural history.