Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
We are adding a source to every entry in this archive. 2 of 6 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.
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
HistoryA pair of bomb blasts tore through buses in Nairobi, Kenya, killing several people and wounding dozens more.
History
Production company — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1904 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
Birth
YantsImages — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1981 Ruth Negga, Ethiopian-Irish actress, was born.
Birth
Chin Yu Chu — CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 1981 Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroonian midfielder, was born.
BirthRashidi Yekini, Nigeria's all-time record goalscorer and 1994 World Cup star, died.
Death