On this day — August 8 in African history

US Department of State — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Kenya held presidential elections in which incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner; the result was later nullified by the Supreme Court over irregularities, the first such annulment of an incumbent's re-election in Africa.

Tanzania shifted its national Farmers' Day, known as Nane Nane ("eight-eight"), to August 8, where it has since been marked annually with agricultural fairs honoring the country's farmers.

Tennessee Military Governor Andrew Johnson freed his own enslaved people in Greeneville, Tennessee, an act now commemorated as Emancipation Day in the state.

The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union, becoming the country's ruling party after independence.

Mohamed Morsi, who in 2012 became Egypt's first democratically elected president before being ousted in a coup a year later, was born in Sharqia.

Issa Hayatou, the Cameroonian sports official who led the Confederation of African Football for 29 years and briefly served as FIFA's interim president, died at age 77.