By Returning the Severed Head of Badu Bonsu II
​The Stolen King: Returning the Severed Head of Badu Bonsu II
The account of King Nana Badu Bonsu II highlights a deeply troubling episode of 19th-century Dutch imperialism in West Africa. Badu Bonsu II served as the paramount ruler of the Ahanta nation along the Gold Coast, located in present-day Ghana. Tensions between the indigenous Ahanta people and Dutch colonial authorities escalated dramatically in 1837 following a violent clash. During this conflict, two Dutch representatives, including acting commandant Hendrik Tonneboeijer, were killed. In response to the deaths of its personnel, the Dutch government launched a punitive military expedition against the Ahanta kingdom, which ultimately led to the capture of the king.
​Following his capture, Dutch authorities tried Badu Bonsu II, found him guilty, and executed him by hanging in 1838. However, the tragedy extended beyond his execution. Dutch troops decapitated the fallen king and transported his head to the Netherlands. There, the anatomical specimen was incorporated into medical research collections. For well over a century, the head was stored away, largely overlooked by the public and scholars alike.
Reclaiming stolen royal artifacts and human remains allows African nations to restore sacred cultural heritage, honor the memory of fallen leaders, and heal generational trauma.
​The artifact re-emerged in 2002 at the Leiden University Medical Center. Dutch author Arthur Japin uncovered the location of the severed head while conducting archival research into the shared history of Ghana and the Netherlands. The discovery prompted the Ghanaian government to formally petition Dutch officials for the immediate repatriations of their ancestor’s remains.
​In 2009, approximately 170 years after the execution, the Dutch government officially returned the preserved head to a visiting Ghanaian delegation during a ceremony in The Hague. Ghanaian chiefs and representatives performed sacred traditional rites during the formal hand-over ceremony, bringing a solemn close to a long period of colonial injustice and ensuring the king’s ultimate return to his homeland.
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