Frank Hall, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons President Mobutu Sese Seko fled Zaire as rebel forces closed in on the capital, ending his 32-year rule.
Sources: Los Angeles Times ; The New York Times
Politics
Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
On this day: May 16 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Frank Hall, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Twelve men from the Sidi Moumen shanty towns blew themselves up at five places across Casablanca on the same evening, among them a Spanish restaurant, a hotel and a Jewish community centre. Thirty-three other people were killed. Morocco arrested some 2,000 people over the following year and pushed an anti-terrorism law through parliament within ten days.
Sources: Voice of America ; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
HistoryTwin explosions tore through the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya, killing twelve people.
Sources: BBC News ; The Guardian ; ABC News (Australia)
History
Fernando Pereira / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons 1924 Dawda Jawara, the first President of an independent Gambia, was born.
Sources: The Guardian ; Encyclopaedia Britannica
Birth
Not credited, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1977 Modibo Keita, the first President of Mali, died.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica ; BlackPast.org
Death