Johannesburg – Attempts to return the remains of Khoi leader Dawid Stuurman to South Africa have started, the National Heritage Council (NHC) said on Monday.

A conference about the matter would be held with leaders of the Khoikhoi community and the NHC at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on Tuesday, the council said in a statement.

“An announcement will be made on the remains of Dawid Stuurman and reflections on the meaning of Stuurman’s life, Khoikhoi history and repatriation and memorialisation will be discussed.”

Activists and Stuurman’s descendants from around the country had pledged their support to bring back Stuurman’s remains from Sydney, Australia.

Stuurman died in Australia on 22 February 1830, having arrived in April 1823 from South Africa as a British prisoner.

– SAPA