This chapter draws on examples from Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to examine three categories of heritage use in society: within processes of memory and transitional justice; as part of peacebuilding and nation-building efforts; and as a subject of struggles for control. First, to trace how heritage engages with the difficult past via processes of transitional justice, this chapter examines the materialisation, promotion, and suppression of memory after the conflict in Rwanda and Burundi. It then looks at heritage's involvement in peacebuilding in the same countries: its uneven work as a mechanism for pursuing reconciliation between social groups, along with its state-based institutionalisation to establish national identity and prevent ethnic division. Then, focusing on the politics of heritage, the final section turns to questions of participation and contestation. The DRC shows how attempts to establish control over cultural artefacts play a role in sovereignty politics, while in Rwanda, domestic politics of inclusion and exclusion manifest through seeking control over heritage narratives. Collectively, these examples demonstrate how heritage is involved in attempts to establish peace and justice, while also highlighting considerations of justice within heritage practice itself.