The government is preparing to bring home the remains of hundreds of South Africans who died in Angola during the apartheid struggle, with excavations planned for later this year.
Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel said on Friday that between 300 and 400 Umkhonto we Sizwe combatants died in Angola between 1976 and 1992, and officials estimate that 30% to 50% of the remains may be recoverable.
The work forms part of the SA Exile Repatriation Project, which follows recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to trace people who disappeared in political circumstances between 1960 and 1994.
Graves mapped across Angola
A team sent to Angola in 2025 identified 89 potential graves for excavation, though this is only an initial figure and does not include all possible burial sites at former African National Congress camps.
Nel said recovery will happen in phases, starting with sites that are easier to access. Former camps in the Eastern and Northern Fronts will only be addressed in 2027 because areas need to be cleared of landmines first.
“Symbolic and spiritual repatriation will therefore remain an important component of the Angola project for families whose relatives cannot be physically located or identified,” Nel said during a briefing in Pretoria.
DNA samples being collected
The Missing Persons Task Team is now tracing affected families and collecting DNA samples from relatives to help identify remains. The task team has already recovered remains of more than 230 people in cases linked to apartheid-era political conflict, including 49 from Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Family representatives will travel to Angola in groups to conduct pre-exhumation visits and rituals at the Viana Transit Camp, where MK members passed through during their time in the country. Nel said families will not visit individual graves at this stage because identities have not yet been confirmed.
Excavations planned for autumn
The technical team is scheduled to begin excavations in September or October 2026, pending approval from Angolan authorities. Sites include three cemeteries in Luanda, locations in Malanje town, Quela village and Cacuso in the Eastern Front, as well as Caxito Camp and eight graves at Pango in the Northern Front.
Where remains are clearly South African, they will be exhumed and stored for forensic examination. DNA analysis will confirm identity unless other reliable evidence exists.
Nel said repatriation will only happen after South African status and individual identity have been confirmed. The remains will then be returned for formal handover and reburial in consultation with families, provinces and municipalities.
