It was a sombre day for the families of Namibian liberation heroes Festus Nehale and Petrus Niilenge, as they visited their graves in Cape Town ahead of the exhumation and repatriation of their remains.

The two men died while imprisoned on Robben Island.

Family members and members of the Namibian delegation visited the burial sites of Festus Nehale and Petrus Niilenge at Gugulethu and Maitland cemeteries.

The two political prisoners became ill while in custody and died in Cape Town.

Nehale died in 1971, while Niilenge died in 1974.

Their families never had the opportunity to bring their bodies home.

The location of their graves was later confirmed through records from the City of Cape Town.

Manfred !Gaeb, Director of Heritage and Culture Programmes, is heading the Namibian delegation.

"These comrades of ours got ill in custody and passed on. And then they were basically buried here in Cape Town at Guguletu Cemetery and Maitland Cemeteries, far from home. Already in 2014, there were delegations led, and they came here, and we are just taking that process forward." 

At the gravesites, traditional leader Ndasuunje Shikongeni performed rituals asking the spirits for permission to move the remains.

The ritual forms part of preparations for the exhumation and repatriation process.

Frieda Gideon is the granddaughter of the late Robben Islander Petrus Niilenge.

"We have come to get you, to get your spirit, Grandfather. Shekuhwama Petrus Simon Niilenge! Grandfather, we have come for you, the brave warrior. You who started the war at Omugulugombashe in Uukwaluudhi with the aim of freeing the Namibian citizens. You have become useful. We are sent by the Aandonga, Aangandjera, Aakwaluudhi and Aakwambi. Even though your bodies and blood were left in the battle because of the enemies who wanted our country, they did not succeed."

Nehale and Niilenge will be returned to Namibia for reburial on the 24th of August ahead of Heroes Day.