1960, 17 June
Joseph Kasavubu is selected to be the first president of the Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC).
1991, 17 June
South African government votes to abolish two mainstays of Apartheid:
Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act (No. 108 of 1991) repeals the 1913 Black Land Act, the 1936 Development Trust and Land Act, the 1966 Group Areas Act and the 1984 Black Communities Development Act. The Act is promulgated on 28 June and commences on 30 June 1991.
Population Registration Act Repeal Act No (114 of 1991) repeals the 1950 Population Registration Act.
1992, 17 June
Over 200 rioters, armed with guns and pangas (machetes) stormed through squatter camps south of Johannesburg. 39 people are killed including women and children. The attack on the mainly ANC supporting residents is blamed on the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party.
2004, 17 June
A former Rwandan mayor, Sylvestre Gacumbitsi, is sentenced to 30 years of prison for his part in the 1994 rwandan genocide.
