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1883

Mampuru II, leader of the Pedi nation of South Africa, is hanged for the murder of his half-brother, King Sekhukhuni (pic), after a trial in the British Cape Colony.

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1883

1943

U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt (pic: in hat, with U.S. Army Commanding General and future U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower to his left) becomes the first U.S. President to visit Tunisia, when he makes an overnight stop in Tunis en route to Cairo, Egypt. As the first sitting U.S. president to come to Africa, he has visited several countries, and has developed a strong dislike toward colonialism.

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1943

1962

The new class of Nigerian Airlines hostesses (pic: Tinuade Eyo) is at work, having finished training with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) that owns 17% of Nigerian Airlines and inaugurated jet passenger travel from Lagos to London in April in conjunction with Nigerian Airlines. Stylish in white gloves, pillbox hats, make-up and tailored suits, the hostesses are role models for Nigerian girls who romanticise their lives of travel and independence.

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1962

1965

The fifth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is held in Tunisia. For the first time in the young championship’s history, the host country fails to win the cup. Ghana retains its title won in the last competition, beating Tunisia in the final 3-2 after extra time.

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1965

1984

The start of Operation Moses to airlift to Israel 8,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudanese refugee camps, where they’ve fled from famine. The Israel Defense Forces and Sudanese state security forces team with the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum to coordinate the massive operation, using Trans European Airways aircraft.

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1984

1999

Benin apologises for its role in the West African slave trade. Every year during the 1700s, the King of Dahomey (Benin) earned £250,000 (£50 million in 2023) selling African captives to European slave traders. During that century, Benin sold more than one million Africans into slavery.

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1999

2000

Retired schoolteacher Rosie Mashale finds a toddler abandoned at her doorstep, and expands into an orphanage a day-care centre she runs for some of the 14,000 homeless street kids of Kayelitsha, which is South Africa’s largest township, outside Cape Town. By 2011, she will have moved the facility onto a farm, and established the Fountain of Hope initiative to teach job skills to homeless teens, drawing international attention to their plight.

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2000

2013

The Barotse National Freedom Alliance, made up of various groups seeking autonomy for Barotseland, which is now incorporated into Zambia, introduces itself at the International Conference on Minority Rights held in Cape Town, South Africa. Barotseland also joins the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples’ Organisation.

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2013

2013

South Africa puts its first Cubesat satellite into orbit, assembled at the South African Institute of Technology. The small satellite will be used for weather data collection.

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2013

2017

Robert Mugabe resigns as President of Zimbabwe, sending letter of resignation to parliament. The legislators are assembled at a special sitting of both chambers that was about to impeach and remove Mugabe from office.

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2017

Births

1947
Jared Angira

Considered Kenya’s first significant poet, in Siaya, British Kenya. His first collection of poems, Juices, in 1970, established his reputation. He edited the literary magazine Busara, and was the founder of the Kenya Writer’s Association.

1992
Davido (David Adeleke)

Nigerian-American singer, songwriter and record producer, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. Hugely popular on social media, he is listed among the most influential Africans of the 2020s. His hit single Fall was the longest-running Nigerian pop song in the history of Billboard’s music charts.