French colonial forces killed hundreds of Algerian civilians in the Setif and Guelma massacres, an event that galvanized the later Algerian independence movement.
HistoryOn this day — May 8 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Apollo Temu — CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 1925 Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who became the second President of Tanzania, was born.
Birth
Lula Oficial — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons South Africa held its sixth democratic general election, in which the African National Congress retained its majority under President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Politics
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1773 Ali Bey al-Kabir, the Mamluk leader who ruled Egypt as a virtually independent sultan, died.
DeathMwepu Ilunga, the Congolese footballer famous for charging out of the wall to disrupt a free kick at the 1974 World Cup, died.
Death
Chatham House — CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 2025 Simon Mann, the British mercenary jailed for leading the 2004 attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea, died.
Death