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Apartheid Government Targeted Oliver Tambo?

Mar 11, 2010 4:10pm

On 12 March 1982 the ANC offices in London were bombed. The head of the South African Security Branch, General Johan Coetzee, had planned the operation under instruction of the Minister of Law and Order, Louis le Grange. The bombing coincided with an anti-Apartheid rally being held in central London...

The Lovedu Rain Queen

Mar 10, 2010 4:10pm

Droughts are fairly common in southern Africa, but when the rain does fall there are excellent opportunities for grazing cattle and developing agriculture. So it is not surprising that one of the most critical threats against the well being of a southern African society was failure of the rains. Rain...

This Day in african History – Bambara Empire of Mali Brought to an End

Mar 9, 2010 4:10pm

The final death knell of the Bambara Empire sounded with the invasion of the city of Ségou by the forces of al-Hajj 'Umar on 10 March 1861. The process had been long winded - the collapse began in 1818 with an assault by the forces of the Fulani Muslim leader,...

Was it Band Aid or Bullet Aid?

Mar 7, 2010 1:17am

Journalist Martin Plaut has raised a furore (Bob Geldof demands proof of BBC Ethiopia aid report) over claims that up to 95% of the international aid in the 1980s, destined for the starving of Ethiopia, was diverted to rebel groups and used to buy arms. Plaut has spent a year following...

This Day in African History – Ghana Achieves Independence from Britain

Mar 5, 2010 4:10pm

War between the British and the Ashanti was brought to an end in 1874 when the defeated King, Asantehene, signed a treaty with the British. The Gold Coast colony was created, incorporating the Ahanti and a Protectorate in the north. Following the re-disposition of German colonies after World War...

This Day in African History – Multi-Racial Elections in Rhodesia End White Domination

Mar 3, 2010 4:10pm

Robert Gabriel Mugabe wass elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe at the age of 52 on 4 March 1980. Mugabe's party, the Zimbabwe African National Union, ZANU, won 57 of the 80 available seats in the 100 seat Assembly (the 20 seats reserved for whites were won by Ian Smith's Rhodesian...

A Few Words About African Government ...

Feb 28, 2010 8:10pm

"This longevity in power by so many corrupt and incompetent regimes despite an absolutely disastrous economic record must stand out as the truly most remarkable characteristic of Africa's recent political history." Nicholas van de Walle, John S. Knight Professor of International Studies at Cornell University, from his book African Economies...

This Day in African History -- Ethiopia's Decisive Victory at Adowa

Feb 28, 2010 4:10pm

On 1 March 1896, troops of Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, routed those of General Oreste Baratieri, Italian governor of Eritrea. The victory at Adowa saved Ethiopia from Italian colonization and raised its status to that of an equal partner in the world community of nations. • Battle of Adowa Timeline...

This Day in African History – Spain Grants Western Sahara Independence

Feb 27, 2010 4:20pm

From 1958 to 1975 this region was a Spanish Overseas Province. In 1975 an International Court of Justice granted self-determination to Western Sahara. Spain responded by granting the region independence on 28 February 1976. Unfortunately this prompted Morocco's King Hassan to order 350,000 people on the Green March, and the...

This Day in African History – Egypt Declared a Sovereign State

Feb 27, 2010 4:10pm

From an ancient African civilization which developed writing and agriculture, Egypt underwent several periods of foreign domination: starting with Alexander the Great in 330 BCE, cycling through the Ptolemaic Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Mamelukes, Ottoman Turks, and French, and ending up under the British until they unilaterally declared Egyptian independent...