Quinine is used for the first time as a malaria preventative rather than as a cure once a patient has malaria, on a 118-day Niger River expedition of British explorer and naturalist William Baikie. The expedition will return without the loss of a single man. Malaria has prevented European colonisation of the tropical African interior. Between 1836 and 1849, half (48,3%) of British soldiers sent to Sierra Leone died of malaria. British soldiers sang “Beware, oh beware, of the Bay of Benin / Where few come out although many go in.” With the use of quinine, British politicians will no longer call for the abandonment of Britain’s West African colonies because of the high cost of lives lost to disease.

‍

The last king of the Zulu Kingdom, King Cetshwayo, dies at Eshowe in South Africa. The kings of the Zulu nation who follow him will reign within Britain’s Natal Province, followed by the Union of South Africa and then the Republic of South Africa. However, the independent Zulu nation is no more.

General elections are held in Gold Coast (Ghana). These are the first democratic elections with full universal suffrage to be run in colonial Africa. Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party wins 34 of 38 legislative seats. Although imprisoned by British colonial authorities, Nkrumah runs his campaign from his prison cell, and wins the Accra Central seat.

The Charonne Massacre in Paris: 30,000 Algerians and Parisians gather for an illegal demonstration to push for an end of France’s war in Algeria, at the Charonne Metro station. Police open fire, and kill nine people.

NikNaks, a cheese-flavoured snack, is introduced by South Africa’s Simba Chips company. Made from maize and known locally as amaNikNacks, they will soon become one of Southern Africa’s favourite snack choices.

The Second Battle of Massawa begins in Eritrea’s coastal city, when Eritrean forces fighting the Eritrean War for Independence against Ethiopia launch a surprise attack. In three days, the Eritrean rebels will capture the town and the nearby Ethiopian naval base. To avenge the loss, Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Mariam bombards Massawa with napalm and cluster bombs, hitting hardest the civilian population.

The Africa Cup of Nations (officially the Orange Africa Cup of Nations to acknowledge the sponsorship of the digital services company Orange) is hosted by Equatorial Guinea. Côte d’Ivoire wins its second title, with the Ivorian team's Sylvain Gbohouo named Best Goalkeeper. Ghana’s Christian Atsu is Best Player.

Egyptian police fire teargas at football fans forcing their way into 30 June Stadium, resulting in a stampede that kills at least 20 people.

Equatorial Guinea government offices begin relocating from the old capital Malabo, on the island of Bioko, to Oyala, which has been renamed Ciudad de la Paz (City of Peace) by Equatorial Guinea dictator Teodoro Obiang. Still under construction and financed by the country’s oil wealth, the new capital is being design for 200,000 residents by the Portuguese Studio for Architecture and Urbanism FAT.

Nigeria has its first Cross-Country Ski Olympian as Samuel Ikpefan, who was raised in the French Alps, competes for Nigeria at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Africa has six athletes competing at this Olympic Games from five African countries: Eritrea, Ghana, Madagascar, Morocco and Nigeria.