Against the background of avalanche of signatures, United Kingdom is under pressure to return the world’s largest clear cut diamond, set in the royal sceptre for coronation of King Charles 111, to South Africa.
The 530-carat diamond, known as the Star of Africa, was discovered in a mine near Pretoria in 1905 and given to King Edward VII by South Africa’s colonial authorities.
A campaign to demand its return is being run by Mothusi Kamanga, a lawyer and activist in Johannesburg who has promoted an online petition, which has gathered about 8,000 signatures.
“The diamond needs to come to South Africa. It needs to be a sign of our pride, our heritage and our culture,” said the campaigner.
“I think generally the African people are starting to realise that to decolonise is not just to let people have certain freedoms, but it’s also to take back what has been expropriated from us.”
The Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross has been used at every coronation since Charles II’s in 1661.
The diamond at the top of it was cut from the Cullinan diamond, the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered at 3,106 carats. It was split into nine major stones, plus 96 smaller brilliants.
The largest of the stones are the Cullinan I and the Cullinan II, which is in the Imperial State Crown, which King Charles will wear at his coronation.
Both the state crown and the sceptre are kept with the other crown jewels in the Tower of London.
A replica of the whole Cullinan diamond, which is about the size of a man’s fist, is displayed at the Cape Town Diamond Museum.
“I believe it should be brought back home because at the end of the day, they took it from us while they were oppressing us,” said Johannesburg resident Mohamed Abdulahi.
Many were set in the crown jewels — the second-largest stone adorns the front of the Imperial State Crown — and the rest were given to other members of the Royal family.
Since the end of apartheid there have been repeated calls for the gems to be returned, which have grown louder around flashpoint events such as Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to the country in 48 years in 1995.
Meanwhile international momentum has grown for the restoration of African artefacts from former colonial powers such as Britain, France, Germany and Belgium.
“We want #StarOfAfrica…together with ALL the rest of the diamonds, gold & other minerals, that the #BritishEmpire stole from SA back, WITHOUT COMPENSATION,” firebrand politician Carl Niehaus tweeted after Elizabeth’s death in September 2022.
“One does not pay for stolen goods!”
An online petition urging King Charles to return the Cullinan diamonds has been signed by more than 8,000 people.
