On this day — May 20 in African history

Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.

1983

A car bomb planted by Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC's armed wing, exploded on Church Street in Pretoria, South Africa, killing 19 people.

History
1802

Napoleon Bonaparte reinstated slavery in French colonies, reversing its abolition during the French Revolution.

History
Cameroonians voted in a referendum to abolish the federal system and adopt a unitary state, a cha… Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1972

Cameroonians voted in a referendum to abolish the federal system and adopt a unitary state, a change now marked annually as Cameroon's National Day.

Politics