The president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, has requested that the Egyptian parliament amend the constitution to allow for multiple candidates in presidential elections, instead of the current single, parliament-approved candidate, ... Read More

26 February – 4 MarchThe Congo Free State becomes the Belgian Congo after being bought from King Leopold II for £5 million, Egypt and Morocco gain independence, and Robert Gabriel ... Read More

South African police and rioters in South Africa's Cape Town informal settlement of Crossroads clashed over an attempt to move residents to the new Township of Kayelitsha. Find out more ... Read More

Homo habilis, the 'Handy Man', was discovered by Louis Leakey, Phillip Tobias and John Napier at Olduvai Gorge in Kenya in 1961. It has since been found in a wide ... Read More

19 – 25 FebruaryGamal Abdel Nasser is made president of the United Arab Republic, Rommel is appointed as commander-in-chief Army Group Afrika, and Dr Louis Leakey discovers human-like bones in ... Read More

Feminist Africa is an e-journal published by the African Gender Institute (AGI). The AGI's vision is of Africa as "a continent liberated from the legacies of colonial and patriarchal domination ... Read More

Continental Africa's smallest nation, The Gambia is one of the few west African countries to have extended periods of political stability since gaining independence from Britain on 18 February 1965. ... Read More

The King of Swaziland, Mswati III, has bought 10 of his wives a BMW, reports News24.com. The announcement comes on the heels of the purchase of a $500,000 vehicle for ... Read More

A study in Niger has found that eight per cent of the population is enslaved, reports BBC News. A BBC correspondent travelled "hundreds of miles north across the desert" to ... Read More

12 – 18 FebruaryRommel arrives in North Africa for the first time, The Gambia achieves independence, and at least eight people are killed by South African police during clashes at ... Read More

African people have been captured and sold as slaves within their own continent, across the Atlantic, and in the East. Even today reports in the news suggest slavery still exists. ... Read More

When the Portuguese first sailed down the Atlantic African coast in the 1430s, they were interested in one thing. Surprisingly, given modern perspectives, it was not slaves but gold. By ... Read More

5 – 11 FebruaryRobert Gabriel Mugabe narrowly avoids a second assassination attempt, FRELIMO announces its plans to turn Mozambique into a Marxist state, and Nelson Mandela is released from Victor ... Read More

The Iziko Museums of Cape Town are running a summer school during February. Lectures anyone interested in African history are likely to enjoy include Rob Shell on Slavery and Freedom, ... Read More

The Irish pop star Bob Geldof, who launched Band Aid/Live Aid to raise funds for famine victims in Ethiopia in the 1980s, has said he is tired of being "Mr ... Read More