Anefo — CC0, Wikimedia Commons 1961 Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, was murdered by firing squad amid Belgian and American complicity.
Source: Britannica
DeathOn this day — January 17 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
We are adding a source to every entry in this archive. 7 of 8 on this page carry one so far. The rest were written before per-entry citations were recorded, so if you intend to rely on one, check it independently until its source appears here. See our sourcing methodology.
Anefo — CC0, Wikimedia Commons 1961 
MONUSCO / Neil Wetmore — CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 2002 Mount Nyiragongo erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sending lava through the city of Goma and displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
Source: NASA Earth Observatory
Science
Painting by William Barnes Wollen — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1885 A British column marching to relieve Gordon at Khartoum was attacked at Abu Klea by Mahdist forces, who broke into the British square before being driven out. About 1,100 Mahdists were killed against 74 British. Khartoum fell anyway, nine days later, before the column arrived.
Sources: National Army Museum ; National Army Museum
History
Ralf Roletschek — CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1940 Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner whose 1968 Olympic gold in the 1500m helped launch Kenya's distance-running dominance, was born.
Source: Britannica
Birth
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2015 Faten Hamama, celebrated Egyptian actress often called the 'Lady of the Arab Screen', died at age 83.
Source: Variety
DeathJohn Nkomo, Vice President of Zimbabwe and veteran liberation-movement politician, died at age 78.
Death
Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 2010 Rioting between Muslim and Christian communities broke out in Jos, Nigeria, and spread to surrounding villages over at least four days. Counts of the dead start at around 326 and run considerably higher; the worst single episode, at Kuru Karama on 19 January, killed 174 people.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Tragedy
Borysk5 — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 2012 Tuareg fighters of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad attacked the Malian army garrison at Ménaka, opening the rebellion in northern Mali that would topple the government in Bamako within months and draw in French military intervention.
Sources: Clingendael Institute ; Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (CTC Sentinel, vol. 5 no. 7)
Politics