"For far too many Africans conflict is a part of life ... these conflicts are a millstone around Africa's neck."

"No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves or the police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20% off the top... That is not democracy. That is tyranny even if you sprinkle an election in it."

"Africa does not need strong men, it needs strong institutions."

Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States of America, as quoted in 'Obama deeply moved by 'evil' slave fortress', Mail and Guardian Online, 12 July 2009.'

The Blacks (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act No 67 of 1952 (commenced 11 July) repealed early laws, which differed from province to province, relating to the carrying of passes by Black male workers (e.g. the Native Labour Regulation Act of 1911) and instead required all black persons over the age of 16 in all provinces to carry a 'reference book' at all times. Find out more about the Blacks Act of 1952.

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Jean-Batiste Marchand, French explorer and soldier, is best known today for his occupation of Fashoda, now known as Kodok, in the Sudan in 1898.

Marchand served in Senegal in 1889 and was present at the capture of Diena. Severely wounded, Marchland was made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur. In the early 1890s he explored the sources of the River Niger, as well as traveling to the western Sudan, and the interior of Côte d'Ivoire. In 1896 he was sent by the then French foreign minister, Gabriel Hanotaux, to travel from the Gabon to the Red Sea with an expedition of 150 men. France wanted to link its West African territories to potential trade opportunities on the west coast. Major Marchand traveled across the continent (3,200 km / 2000 miles of territory relatively unexplored by Europeans), arriving at Fashoda on 10 July 1898, and took occupation of the fort.

At the same time Britain was attempting to extend its African Colonies through the continent by linking Uganda to Egypt, by retaking the Sudan, and building a Cape to Cairo railway.

Marchand's occupation lead to the Fashoda Incident when British forces under the command of Herbert Kitchener marched up the Nile reclaiming the Sudan. Kitchener reached Fashoda on 11 September 1898, and temporary truce was agreed. On 9 November the new French foreign minister, Théophile Delcassé, ordered Marchand to withdraw in order to avoid further conflict (and the risk of war) between France and Britain.

The African Union, AU, is a pan-African organization whose aims are to promote unity and solidarity of African countries. The AU replaced the Organization of African Unity, OAU (which had been established on 25 May 1963). The move to replace the OAU was headed by Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, who wished to create a body similar to that of the European Union – with an emphasis on economic collaboration. The AU was launched at the Durban Summit in 2002 with Thabo Mbeki as chairman. A Pan-African Parliament was inaugurated in 2004 and a peacekeeping force set up.

The predecessor of the African Union, the Organization of African Unity, became known internationally as the 'Dictators' Club', and whilst the AU has a voluntary 'peer review' process, several member states are still run by autocrats, and the body seems unable to deal with serious African concerns such as the current Dafur Crisis or the on going conflict in Somalia.

^{Image: © African Union}