On this day: May 4 in African history

South African paratroopers attacked the settlement at Cassinga in southern Angola. Angola's account gives 624 dead and 611 wounded, among them 167 women and 298 children and teenagers. South Africa said it had hit a SWAPO military headquarters; SWAPO said it was a refugee camp, and a UN report later described a place holding both fighters and a large civilian population. Namibia marks the day as Cassinga Day.

Sources: South African History Online ; Scientia Militaria

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

A pair of bomb blasts tore through buses in Nairobi, Kenya, killing several people and wounding dozens more.

Sources: BBC News ; Deutsche Welle ; ABC News (Australia)

Production company, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Umm Kulthum, the Egyptian singer known as the Voice of Egypt, was born in Tamay az-Zahayra. Her birth date is not settled: most modern accounts give 4 May 1904, while her birth certificate and some official records point to 31 December 1898.

Source: Britannica

Chin Yu Chu, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroonian midfielder, was born.

Sources: Transfermarkt ; Sports Reference (FBref)

Rashidi Yekini, Nigeria's all-time record goalscorer and 1994 World Cup star, died.

Sources: BBC Sport ; BusinessDay Nigeria