The Kiriji War, the civil war that has divided Yorubaland in West Africa (Southwest Nigeria) for 16 years, ends with the armies of the Ibadan, Ilorin and confederated forces finally disbanding. Up to 100,000 warriors fought for each side at their greatest strength, and the number of casualties during the conflict is not known. The ultimate result is a weakening of all nations, which makes it easier for them to agree to surrender to Britain’s colonising ambitions. Ibadan (pic) becomes a British Protectorate on 15 August

Italy’s King Umberto declares his birthday today a national Day of Mourning for the 6,000 Italian soldiers killed in the Battle of Adwa, which concluded the Italo-Ethiopian War with a stunning Italian defeat at the hands of Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II.

Harry Thuku, the father of Kenyan nationalism, is arrested by British authorities in East Africa for advocating an end to colonial rule, a concept that is heresy to powerful British farmers whose lands Thuku wants returned to their owners. Thuku is one of the first Kenyans to effectively campaign in print, having mastered the English language as a newspaper typesetter and then as a telegraph operator and clerk for the colonial government. He is given no trial, and no charges are laid against him, but he is exiled for ten years to the Northern Frontier Province (Somalia).

To beautify itself, Luanda, the growing capital of Portuguese Angola, develops its waterfront with a long stretch of paved esplanade along the beach. The next stage will be to plant palm trees along its length.

The movie Born Free is released, and becomes one of the the biggest hits of the year. The story retells the experiences of Joy and George Adamson’s adoption of an orphaned lion cub in Kenya, and her release back into the wild when she grows into an adult.

Kenya’s tallest building to date, the 13-storey Industrial Promotion Services building, is opened in Nairobi by President Jomo Kenyatta and businessman Aga Khan. The financer Khan says the clean-lined modern structure is “a symbol of faith placed in the country’s future by the Ismaili Community.”

The ninth Africa Cup of Nations is held in Egypt. For its second time, the Democratic Republic of Congo (as Zaire) wins the championship. The team will play at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.

The London office of South Africa’s banned anti-apartheid liberation organisation the African National Congress is destroyed by a bomb in a “symbolic attack” by the Security Branch of the South African Police. In 1998, General Johann Coetzee and eight South African policemen will confess to being the perpetrators when they testify before South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Africa’s first and only (as of 2023) nuclear power plant becomes operational, in Koeberg in South Africa’s Western Cape Province.

The publication of Ben Okri's novel The Famished Road. The first of the Nigerian author's trilogy that will continue with Songs of Enchantment and conclude with Infinite Riches, the book is a critical hit and will win this year's Brooker Prize, which is awarded to the best novel written in English and published in the U.K.

Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika (pic) reportedly moves out of the Presidential Palace, fearing the official presidential residence is haunted. Two journalists are arrested for quoting Mutharika’s religious affairs advisor Rev. Malani Mtonga, who says that Mutharika kept hearing "strange noises" and at night "felt a strange presence hanging around him.”

One of the most powerful storms to hit Mozambique, Cyclone Idai, strikes with winds up to 177 km/hour, and causing flooding six-metres deep. The port city Beira is devastated.

Nigerian music stars Burna Boy (pic: left) and rapper Wizkid (pic: right) each win Grammy Awards - Burna Boy for Best Global Album for Twice as Tall and Wizkid for Best Music Video for Brown Skin Girl.