Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by his own Pretorian Guard, who do it for profit (they will auction off his office to political rivals who want to rule ancient Rome). The killing sets the stage for the reign of the first Roman emperor born in Africa, Lucius Severus, who comes from a land that will become Libya.

The Dutch ship Amersfoort arrives at Cape Town with 174 enslaved people from what will become Angola. Fed a diet of rice and penguin meat, they are to work the Cape Colony, a settlement of the Dutch East India Company established to supply food for the company’s merchant ships. The Amersfoort has hijacked a Portuguese slave ship, and stole 250 of the “best” kidnapped Africans in its hold, of whom 76 have died before reaching the Cape. For years, the colony has sought slaves to work the fields, and is delighted to receive the Amersfoort and establish slavery as the economic foundation of early South Africa.

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The Battle of Hlobane is a victory for the Zulu army of King Cetshwayo in the Anglo-Zulu War of British conquest of Zululand. Following the Zulu victories at the Battle of Isandlwana and the recent Battle of Intombe, the British realise they must import more soldiers and heavy armaments to defeat the Zulu warriors.

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Speaking before France’s Chamber of Deputies, Prime Minister Jules Ferry says about France’s colonisation of African peoples, “It is a right for the superior races, because they have a duty. They have the duty to civilise the inferior races." Under his administration, Madagascar and Tunisia are colonised, and French colonial interests are advanced in Central Africa and Niger.

The Society for German Colonisation is formed in Berlin as a private company to exploit mineral deposits and engaged in other for-profit activities. Setting its sights on East Africa, the company signs treaties with several chiefs in preparation for the German take-over of Tanganyika.

The Imperial Ethiopian Air Force flies its first mission. Three biplanes fly over the rebel Gugsa Welle army in Begemder province, and drop propaganda leaflets. The mission is a success in that some rebels opposing the government desert the rebel army.

Libya joins the Arab League, which is now eight years old.

Air Afrique is established with the signing of the Treaty of Yaoundé, which creates a co-venture. Air France and UAT airlines each own 17% of the company, and the remaining 66% is shared between the former French colonies and now independent countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Mauritania, Niger, the Republic of Congo and Senegal.

The Shell House Massacre in Johannesburg: Between 20,000 and 50,000 members of the Zulu Inkhatha Freedom Party, armed with traditional weapons, march on the headquarters of their rivals the African National Congress Party. President Nelson Mandela orders that the building be protected, even at the cost of lives. A commission of inquiry will find that security guards were not justified shooting at demonstrators, killing 53.

In a major battle of South Sudan’s Civil War, government captures the airstrip at Okello that it claims is used by Sudan to supply rebels with weapons. 163 soldiers are killed in the fighting.

One of the largest recorded storms to hit Southern Africa, Cyclone Idai, has caused over US$1 billion in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with damage also in other countries, according to estimates. 90% of Beira, Mozambique, lies in ruins.