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NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 13, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A museum curator in Kenya says antiquities taken during Africa's colonial period are safer and better cared for in U.K. museums than if they were returned.
Kiprop Lagat, curator of a Nairobi museum running a 6-month exhibit of African artifacts on loan from the British Museum, told The Telegraph many of the treasures would now be rotten or broken had they been repatriated from western countries.
"There you have special buildings with controlled environments, humidity monitors, secure storage, ultraviolet filters on windows, so many things," he said. "Here we are putting those things in place but we are not there yet."
The Nairobi exhibit is the first time East African objects held in any major European collection have been displayed in Africa, and for some visitors, a travesty.
"When you see all this in here, it looks fantastic, but it leaves a sour taste in the mouth," said Gikonyo Muchiri, a Nairobi graphic designer. "How can you loan something back to the person you stole it from, then expect him to give it back again?"
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
