Descendants of Zimbabwean freedom fighters executed by British colonial forces in the 1890s are calling on UK institutions to help locate their ancestors' remains.

The relatives believe the Natural History Museum in London and the University of Cambridge may hold skulls of their ancestors, who were leaders in the first chimurenga uprising against British colonizers in southern Africa during the 1890s.

The freedom fighters were executed and beheaded by colonial British forces following their role in leading resistance against colonial rule. Their descendants have long suspected that the remains were taken to British institutions.

The request represents part of ongoing efforts by former colonies to repatriate cultural artifacts and human remains that were removed during the colonial period. Many museums and universities in former colonial powers have faced increasing pressure to return such materials to their countries of origin.

The chimurenga refers to the historical uprisings against colonial rule in what is now Zimbabwe, with the first occurring in the 1890s shortly after British colonization began in the region.