| Week starting Monday 3 March |
|
| Date |
Year |
Event
|
|
| 3 |
1916 |
Britain and France agree on terms for the administration of the Cameroons. |
| 3 |
1954 |
Colonial government in Kenya begins negotiations with Mau Mau leaders. |
| 3 |
1966 |
Guinean President Ahmed Sékou Touré offers asylum to Kwame Nkrumah, following Nkrumah's
ousting as premier of Ghana on 24 February 1966. Nkrumah becomes co-president of Guinea. There is some debate
whether this was purely an honorary title – Touré threatened to restore Nkrumah as president of Ghana by
force. |
| 3 |
1995 |
US Marines kill several gunmen in Mogadishu whilst supporting the pullout of UN
peacekeepers from Somalia. |
|
| 4 |
1972 |
A Libyan–Soviet accord is agreed for the development of Libyan oil reserves. |
| 4 |
1979 |
The Ugandan capital of Kampala is threatened by invading Tanzanian forces. |
| 4 |
1980 |
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe at the age of 52. Mugabe's
party, the Zimbabwe African National Union, ZANU, won 57 of the 80 available seats in the 100 seat Assembly
(the 20 seats reserved for whites were won by Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front). |
|
| 5 |
1912 |
First use of dirigibles for military purposes in reconnaissance behind enemy lines by Italy
against Turkish forces near Tripoli. |
| 5 |
1978 |
Algerian freedom fighter, Ahmed Kaid, dies in Rabat, Morocco. |
| 5 |
1980 |
Joshua Mqabuko Nyangolo Nkomo forms a coalition government with Robert Gabriel Mugabe in
Zimbabwe. Nkomo's party, the Zimbabwe African People's Union or ZAPU, won twenty seats in the new Assembly –
all in his tribal homeland of Matabeleland. Mugabe originally offered Nkomo a ceremonial Presidency, but this
was rejected and the post of Minister of Home Affairs was accepted instead. |
| 5 |
1983 |
Six hundred members of the opposition party, ZAPU, are arrested by Robert Mugabe's ZANU
government. |
|
| 6 |
1957 |
Gold Coast and British Togoland (UN trust, previously part of German colony of Togo)
achieve independence as Ghana. |
| 6 |
1982 |
Five of the 24 Muslim fundamentalists accused of the murder of Colonel Mohammed Anwar Sadat
are sentenced to death. |
| 6 |
1993 |
The strategic city of Huambo, central Angola, is captured by União Nacional para a
Independência total de Angola (UNITA) rebels after a four-month battle. |
|
| 7 |
1902 |
British General Lord Methuen is amongst 872 prisoners taken at the Battle of Tweebosch (or
De Klipdrift) – during the battle 68 Brits are killed and 121 are wounded. Lord Methuen was hit in the thigh
during the battle and as he dismounted his horse was killed, falling on him and further breaking his leg. (The
medical officer treating Methuen in situ was also hit.) The Boer commander, JH (Koos) de la Rey loses eight
killed and 26 wounded. |
| 7 |
1902 |
De la Rey orders 11 black prisoners taken at the battle of Tweebosch to be escorted to a
nearby farm, Gunsteling, where they are forced to dig a mass grave, are blindfolded and then shot. |
| 7 |
1957 |
Gaza Strip is placed under UN administration. |
| 7 |
1968 |
The College of Chiefs in Lesotho revoke a declaration by King Moshoeshoe II accepting
constitutional limitations on the monarchy. Motlotlehi Moshoeshoe was the paramount chief of the Sotho when
the new Lesotho Prime Minister, Chief Leabua Jonathan, demanded his abdication in October 1966 (when Lesotho
gained independence). Moshoeshoe was placed under house arrest until he signed the document. Chief Jonathan
staged a coup in 1970 when it was clear that he would lose the next election. In 1986 the Lesotho military
toppled Chief Jonathan's rule and the king was restored to full power (although the military maintained a
significant degree of control over policy making). |
| 7 |
1994 |
It is reported that over 200 Hutu's have died during a two day massacre in Burundi.
Eyewitnesses blame the Tutsi-dominated army. |
|
| 8 |
1902 |
General De la Rey releases General Lord Methuen after his wounds are treated. After only
travelling 29 kilometres Methuen's party is once again taken – De la Rey had been forced to reverse his
decision by the burghers of his Commando. |
| 8 |
1957 |
The Suez Canal finally reopens for smaller vessels following the Tripartite Invasion. |
| 8 |
1986 |
South African Police open fire on the 3,000 mourners attending the funeral of an ANC
guerrilla. |
|
| 9 |
1902 |
Following an extended argument with his burghers General De la Rey once again releases Lord
Methuen. The transport wagon provided by De la Rey is returned by Methuen loaded with supplies, including a
new rifle to replace the one used to splint Methuen's leg. |
| 9 |
1905 |
Acting Governor general Paul Costermans commits suicide following the investigation of
Colonial policy in King Leopold II's Congo Free state. |
| 9 |
1905 |
Archaeologist Theodore Davis enters the tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu (the parents of Queen Tiye)
in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. |
| 9 |
1954 |
Mohammed Naguib beats off Gamal Abdul Nasser's challenge and retains the Egyptian
presidency. |
| 9 |
1978 |
Accepting defeat in the Ogaden War, Somalian forces begin withdrawing from Ethiopian
territory. |
|
