Economic history of South Africa

Prior to the arrival of Europeans settlers in the 14th century the economy of what was to become South Africa was dominated by subsistence agriculture and hunting.
In the north, central and east of the country tribes of Bantu peoples occupied land on a communal basis under tribal chiefdoms. It was an overwhelmingly pastoral economy and wealth was measured in the number of cattle men held. Population growth had created a land pressure that had seen the tribes move steadily from the origins in central east Africa.
In the southern and western parts of the country, San (Bushmen) peoples led nomadic lives based on hunting and the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) peoples led a pastoral existence.
In the first half of the 20th century, agriculture and mining were the largest parts of the South African economy.
Early history.
The first evidence of pottery and agriculture (sheep) in South Africa can be found in the period of 350-150 BCE, while metals date back to the 52-252 CE period. The earliest occurrence of cattle farming was in the 5th century CE and the Iron Age reached modern-day Kwa-Zulu Natal around 700 CE.
The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (c.11th - 13th century CE) was a medieval state in South Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers. This saw the beginnings of South Africa's gold and ivory trade and the production of jewelry and art. The Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe was discovered on a royal grave at the site of Mapungubwe Hill, and was on display at the British Museum as part of an exhibition celebrating the art of South Africa. Mapungubwe also saw the first development of stonemasonry in what is now South Africa. Glass beads and Chinese ceramics were imported.
European settlement.
In 1652 a permanent European settlement was established in Cape Town in the far south west of the country. It was not originally planned as a colony but as a refreshment station. Malnutrition, especially scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency arising from a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, was a problem for the ships of the Dutch East India Company that were plying trade between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, modern Indonesia.
To deal with the problems, the Company established a garden at the foot of Table Mountain and bartered cattle from the Khoikhoi to supply to passing ships.
However, the arrival of permanent European settlers triggered profound change. The Europeans intentionally decimated the San through disease , driving them to the Kalahari Desert region and virtually destroyed the Khoikhoi people as a struggle against European colonialism. The Khoikhoi( Quena) were enslaved and their identity destroyed for the furtherance of European colonialism.
Land hunger led to wars between the Bantu as the settlers migrated eastwards from the original settlement in Cape Town .
Between the wars , commerce developed between the settlers and the indigenous peoples. Sales of produce and stock saw the development of a black, landed peasantry. .
Immigrant skills.
The Europeans meanwhile imported slaves from Malaya as artisans. Their skills have contributed to the clothing being a major industry in the Cape today. There were other waves of migration from Europe. Persecuted Huguenots from France turned their hands to wine production and Germans and British grew the nascent industrial base and developed modern farming methods. Contrary to popular belief, slaves did not heavily work the farms of the Cape, as that was done contractually by the Khoi, but mostly by the Dutch settlers. Slaves were also imported to the South African region for work on the large scale wine plantations founded by European settlers. Altogether these ambitious efforts increased living standards of the white population substantially.
The province of Natal, a British colony, was found suitable for sugar production but the local Zulu tribes could not be attracted as cane cutters as they lacked the skill and competency to work. Indentured labour was brought from India. The descendants of these labourers play an active role in commerce and industry today.
Additional to slavery, there was another form of coerced labor supply: The Zulu and other kingdoms used young men for coerced labor both as warriors and pastorals.
The European migrants diverged: the Continental Europeans merged to speak a Dutch-derived language, Afrikaans, and the English continued to speak English which became the language of commerce. This dichotomy was also seen in the economy, as farmers were mainly Afrikaans-speaking while English-speaking South Africans were drawn to commerce and industry.
Boer republics.
The Afrikaners formed two independent inland republics, the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR) and the Oranje Vrystaat (Orange Free State). On the coast the British occupied the Cape Colony and Natal.
The discovery of diamonds in the Cape Province in 1866 the discovery of gold twenty years later on the Witwatersrand in the ZAR transformed the economy and attracted considerable foreign interest. The subsequent diamond and gold rushes saw further migrations of a range of nationalities including Cornish miners and eastern European Jews amongst others.
The British invaded the Freestate and ZAR and brought them under British control uniting the four provinces in the Union of South Africa in 1910.
But perhaps the greatest impact was the influx of international capital to finance the mining operations, including the arrival of Cecil John Rhodes who formed the De Beers and Anglo-American. During the age of African colonization, due to its large amount of gold and diamond mines, South Africa attracted the majority (55,8%) of overseas investments to the whole African continent.
Migrant labour.
The indigenous people had no knowledge about the mining economy and this led to a shortage of labour on the mines. In a measure to force labour to the mines, Rhodes, who had turned from forming the De Beers Company to politics, secured the passing of the Glen Grey Act in 1894. The Act obliged the payment of tax with the specific aim of forcing peasant farmers, who were not part of the money economy, to find work that paid money to pay the taxes. The Act was a deliberate move by Rhodes to force labour to the mines.
This was the start of a migratory labour system in which black men travelled to the mines to work leaving their families in the tribal areas.
The supply of labour became more than sufficient and the mining companies formed a buying cartel through their association, the Chamber of Mines. This enabled them to create a monopsony (market conditions where there is only one buyer) that suppressed wages. The mines also attracted labour from neighbouring countries such as Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe), Nyasaland (now Malawi) and Mozambique (that was then a Portuguese colony) that kept wages of black workers down.
Rand Rebellion.
South African gold mines are deep and expensive to run and the mine companies endeavoured to keep costs down. However, in trying to train blacks for skilled jobs, they ran into conflict with white miners. The racist white miners resisted black miners in 1922 in the area around the centre of gold mining: the Witwatersrand.
The Rand Rebellion was crushed with what was an early use of air power and some white miners were dispatched to the gallows. Those sentenced to hang were said to have gone to the gallows quoting Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's Communist Manifesto, saying, "Workers of the world unite".
Poor Whites.
Among the white population there were many Afrikaner sharecroppers (tenant farmers who shared their crops with their landlord in lieu of rent). However, the onset of the Great Depression, combined with drought, led to the forced sale and consolidation of many of these farms, which itself led to the eviction of the residential sharecroppers. These subsequently unemployed whites flooded towns, competing with blacks for jobs in the mines.
Special attention was paid to this new influx of white poverty (as opposed to any changes in non-whites' statuses), and the Carnegie Corporation, founded by Scots-born, American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, conducted a study into white poverty that was published as the "Commission on the Poor White Problem in South Africa" in 1932. It led to the alleviation of white poverty, but to some it was also seen as the foundation for the formalised system of racial discrimination against blacks that became known as apartheid.
Blacks had no vote and the whites used their political power to force the mining companies to protect skilled jobs for whites.
Labour-Afrikaner Nationalist Unity.
From the late 1920s, whites elected governments that united white labour and Afrikaner Nationalism that used sanctions such as denying government contracts, against businesses that did not employ people who spoke Afrikaans. Nationalised industries were established, like steel and the railways, which reserved even low skilled jobs for whites.
The 1930s and 1940s saw the rapid industrialisation of the country as it supplied the mining industry and the government invested in major projects to protect white employment. South Africa not only had gold and diamonds but vast quantities of iron, coal and many other minerals. Agriculture diminished in importance as mining and then industry grew.
While English-speaking South Africans dominated industrial and commercial life Afrikaners banded together in mutual financial organisations that in due course were to become major players in that sector of the economy.
Apartheid.
In 1948, a government was elected that introduced the policy of apartheid (segregation) that was aimed to allow different racial groups to progress in their own separate areas.
In the two decades following the rise to power of the National Party, whites (particularly Afrikaners) rose above all other ethnic groups in South Africa through their dominant and tactful performance in the labour market. Throughout the 1960s, South Africa had economic dominance over the rest of Africa and was considered the only developed country in Africa by the United Nations economic criteria. Throughout this period South Africa produced twice as much electricity and six times as much steel as the rest of the African continent combined while at the same time, accounting for 43% of Africa's entire mineral production output. Economic dominance during this period was made possible by Black South Africans and migratory labour from Malawi, Lesotho and Portuguese Mozambique who all experienced poor working conditions and relativity low wages. The government at the time even admitted that Black labour was crucial to their economic success and hence talks of territorial and political separation along racial lines at the time was deemed a threat to economic expansion for South Africa.
As noted by one historian, "Full employment, in combination with labour controls, limitations on the free movement and employment of non-whites, and the use of colour bars at company level, contributed to high levels of disposable income for the white population".
Many English-speaking South Africans had participated in the heavy discrimination that preceded apartheid, and tacitly supported the legislation while paying lip service to opposing the laws. By so doing apartheid managed to create a system in which black people were pushed to the margins of their land through the imposition of the Land Act of 1913. In result; many blacks are unskilled, illiterate, and have low living standards. Their schooling system, the Bantu languages education, was based on the notion that black people cannot progress fast enough in scientific subjects due to lower intellectual skills, and has resulted in many being excluded from work requiring skill.
Business support for apartheid.
With the support of foreign capital, the mines and the mining finance houses, largely dominated by English-speaking South Africans, prospered under the system of apartheid and shunned outright opposition. In return for the continued monopsony of labour purchase for the mines that kept wages low and outlawed trade unions, the English-speaking mining companies tolerated job reservation that prevented blacks from developing skills. This is debated, however, as policies to restrict labour supply to whites only resulted in higher miner wages than under a system of equal employment.
Over time the mining companies introduced changes to lower their costs but the alliance with the government continued.
White trade unionism was allowed but there were no black trade unions until the 1970s.
Sanctions.
The imposition of international sanctions on the country began economic pressure that saw the unravelling of apartheid. There were oil sanctions but South Africa continued to be able to buy oil on international markets and developed technology that allowed the conversion of coal into oil. A small gas field was discovered off the coast of the Cape.
But the most damaging isolation was the denial of investment funds and the boycott of South African investments particularly by influential universities and foundations in the United States. These boycotts limited the capital available to South African businesses.
Ironically, during the 1980s gold reached its highest price as a result of international tensions reaping huge profits for the mining company conglomerates. However, because of currency restrictions and bans on the sales of Krugerrands in some countries, they were unable to invest abroad. The result was that they used their surplus funds to buy up businesses in virtually every activity in the economy.
However, the financial benefit for the mining companies of continuing to support the system eroded as international capital stopped flowing into the country.
Unsustainable burden of sanctions.
In 1990 the president Frederik Willem (F.W.) de Klerk recognised the economic unsustainability of the burden of international sanctions and released Nelson Mandela the nationalist leader and unbanned the African National Congress (ANC) that Mandela led.
Despite some fears that the country could become unmanageable because of tribal conflict or even a military take over by the white-dominated armed forces de Klerk and Mandela guided the country to democratic elections in 1994 with Mandela as president.
Despite socialist rhetoric and support from socialist countries in its early years the ANC maintained the mixed economy and encouraged the market economy including relaxing foreign exchange controls.
In January 1991, SACP general secretary Joe Slovo, DP Finance Spokesman Harry Schwarz and Deputy Finance Minister Org Marais, debated the state's role in a post-apartheid economy, in an historic debate organised by the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa.
Black empowerment.
At the same time they embarked on the Reconstruction and Development Plan to improve services including housing, education and health to blacks only as a means to achieve much needed equity.
The ANC also initiated a system of "black economic empowerment" which its aim was to establish equity to the previously disadvantaged races and the race that was advantaged.
Land hunger again.
A major source of stress remains the redistribution of land. Under apartheid 73% of land was in so called "white areas" and many blacks had been uprooted and removed to previous tribal areas to keep crime and vandalism away from important land.
The slow legal and bureaucratic process of restitution is causing impatience among blacks and concern among white farmers that South Africa may go down the route of neighbouring Zimbabwe where land is being unilaterally seized by the government and its supporters, causing food shortages as the new owners tend to have less farming experience.
First-world infrastructure.
The needs of the mines to maintain internal security under apartheid had seen parts of South Africa develop an infrastructure that was sufficient to cater to business in the cities and as a connection between provinces (states). This has served the country well in the post apartheid years but is going to waste as infrastructure has not been well maintained by the ruling government.
Foreign investment has flowed from South Africa around the globe: several major companies including Anglo-American, Old Mutual and South African Breweries are now listed on the London Stock Exchange.


Algoa Bay

Algoa Bay is a bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located in the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope.
Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour city of Port Elizabeth is situated adjacent to the bay, as is the new Coega deep water port facility.
History.
The Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to reach Algoa Bay in 1488, where he planted a wooden cross on a small island now called St Croix or Santa Cruz island. He gave the bay a name meaning "Bay of the Rock", which was changed in Portugal to "Bahia de Lagoa" or Bay of the Lagoon, and which eventually became Algoa Bay.
Joshua Slocum talks about Algoa Bay in his book 'Sailing Alone Around the World':
Nautical charts of the bay caution mariners that "projectiles and badly corroded mustard gas containers have been found in the area between Cape St Francis and Bird Island out to depths of . Trawlers should exercise the greatest caution."
The chemical weapons were dumped in the bay in the aftermath of World War II. During that conflict, Port Elizabeth was used as a research, manufacturing and storage site for mustard gas ordered by the British Air Ministry.
Geography.
Nelson Mandela Bay.
The metropolitan municipality of Nelson Mandela Bay, which includes Port Elizabeth, Bluewater Bay, St Georges Strand and Coega, is located on the western shore of Algoa Bay.
Islands.
The bay contains six named islands in two groups of three that according to BirdLife International “are of considerable importance as they are the only islands along a stretch of coastline between Cape Agulhas and Inhaca Island in Mozambique." The combined surface area of these islands is said to be .
Close inshore, near the new Ngquru harbour development at Coega, on the north-eastern outskirts of Port Elizabeth, is the St Croix group, consisting of a main island of that name and two lesser islets, Jahleel Island just off the Ngquru breakwater and Brenton Island on the seaward side. The second group consists of Bird, Seal and Stag Islands. All six islands and their adjacent waters are declared nature reserves and form part of the Addo Elephant National Park. The islands are closed to the public.
Worthy of mention as an obstacle to navigation is Despatch Rock, due east of the Port Elizabeth suburb of Summerstrand. The rock, which is submerged at high tide, is marked with a light. Further south, about southwest of Cape Recife, the western starting point of the bay is Thunderbolt Reef. Though not in the bay, this hazard to navigation has claimed many ships carelessly entering or leaving. Thunderbolt Reef is submerged save for spring low tides and the surf crashing on it can be observed from the mainland.
Bird Island group.
Vasco da Gama named this group of islands "Ilhéus Châos" (low or flat islands). In 1755, the East Indiaman "Doddington" was wrecked here while underway from Dover to India. Most of the passengers and crew perished, but a few managed to make it to the islands where they were marooned for seven months until one of their number, a carpenter, was able to make a boat for them. The survivors subsisted primarily on fish, birds and eggs until they were able to reach land. The ship was carrying a significant quantity of gold and silver, some of which was illegally salvaged in more recent times. Bird Island was named by the survivors as they left the island in their boat.
Bird Island (), Seal Island and Stag Island lie in close proximity some east of the St Croix group or due east of Port Elizabeth and from the nearest landfall at Woody Cape – part of the Addo Elephant National Park. Bird Island has a lighthouse, erected in 1898 after a series of shipwrecks in the vicinity of the island. Doddington Rock, West rock and East Reef lie just South-West of the group of islands.
At , Bird Island is the largest of the Algoa Bay islands – according to "BirdLife". It is relatively flat and rises to . Seal Island is in size and lies north of Bird Island. Stag Island is even smaller at and is north-west of Bird Island. "Much of the island group is covered by sparse growth of mixed vegetation dominated by the fleshy herb Mesembryanthemum (fig marigold/icicle plants). Tetragonia (Duneweed) and Chenopodium (Goosefoot) form localised thickets that provide cover for some seabirds," the fact sheet says.
Ecology.
Bird and wildlife.
The BirdLife fact sheet adds that 14 species of seabirds, several species of shorebirds and 33 species of terrestrial birds have been recorded on the islands. Eight seabird species were known to breed on the islands in 2007. “These are the only islands off southern mainland Africa where Sterna dougallii (Roseate Tern) breeds regularly.”
The islands are also home to 43% of the global population of the African penguin ("Spheniscus demersus"), the majority of which are on St Croix. St Croix also holds a locally significant breeding population of Cape cormorant ("Phalacrocorax capensis").
Bird Island is one of only six breeding sites in the world for the Cape gannet ("Morus capensis"). “Larus dominicanus (the Kelp Gull) and Haematopus moquini (the African Oystercatcher) are found throughout the Algoa Bay complex. The island group is also known to hold large numbers of Sterna vittata (Antarctic Tern), which in winter roost on the island in their thousands (regularly holding between 10% and 20% of the estimated total Afrotropical non-breeding population).” The island is also home to Cape fur seals ("Arctocephalus pusillus").
Raggy Charters, the a licensed boat-based whale and dolphin watching tour in Algoa Bay can offer guests close-up encounters with the wildlife in the bay. Species which can be seen on the cruises are humpback whales, southern right whales, Bryde's whales, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, humpback dolphins, African penguins, African black oystercatchers, Cape gannets, Cape fur seals, Cape cormorants, white-breasted cormorants, various shark species and various pelagic birds including terns, skuas, petrels, shearwaters and albatrosses.
Conservation issues.
The St. Croix group and a maritime zone around each island became South Africa’s island marine reserve in 1981 and were administered as part of the then-Woody Cape Nature Reserve. Up to then, the islands had fallen under the control of the Guano Islands section of the Division of Sea Fisheries. The Eastern Cape Nature Conservation service, which subsequently became the Directorate of Nature Conservation of the Eastern Cape Province, managed the islands after April 1992 according to BirdLife. The Woody Cape reserve was subsequently incorporated into the Addo National Elephant Park, which boasts that it is home to Africa’s “big seven” – the elephant, lion, leopard, rhinoceros, buffalo and the whale and great white shark that inhabit the bay.
Conservationists are wary of the Ngqura development which in time, in addition to a deep water port will include a heavy-industry complex. Mooted occupants include an aluminium smelter and an oil refinery. They see the development as posing, according to BirdLife:
The NGO notes that the population of the African penguin in the bay has been increasing steadily during the last century. “There are only a few growing colonies in the world, and it is thought that these birds may be relocating here from colonies that are in decline in the Western Cape or farther afield. Certain factors are known to affect seabirds throughout their ranges. Competition with commercial fisheries, especially purse-seining for surface-shoaling fish such as anchovy (Engraulis capensis) and pilchard (Sardinops sagax), has been implicated as one of the most significant factors causing seabird population declines." The organisation has recommended that marine reserves with a radius of 25 km be created around important breeding islands, and that commercial fishing be banned or restricted in these zones.
The fact sheet continues: “An unpredictable threat, which is difficult to control, is chronic pollution by crude oil or other pollutants which spill into the ocean when tankers break open, wash their tanks, dump cargo or pump bilge. The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is particularly susceptible to these events, and a single oil disaster has the ability to severely affect populations. It is believed that the breeding sites in Algoa Bay, at the eastern extremity of the species' range, are at highest risk as they are closest to the major oil-shipping routes.”


Audu Innocent Ogbeh

Audu Innocent Ogbeh (born 28 July 1947) is a Nigerian politician who was chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) from 2001 until January 2005. He is the former Minister of Agriculture of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 2015 - 2019.
Ogbeh is also known for his literary works. He has written five plays which include three published works. One of his plays, the Epitaph of Simon Kisulu was staged at Muson Center in 2002.
Background.
Ogbeh was born on July 28, 1947, in Benue State, of Idoma background.
He attended King's College, Lagos (1967 - 1968), then studied at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1969 - 1972) and the University of Toulouse, France (1973 - 1974). He lectured at the Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1972 - 1976) and headed the Department of Humanities, Murtala College of Arts, Science and Technology (1977 - 1979).
Political career.
In 1979, he ran for office in the Benue State House of Assembly on the Platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), becoming deputy speaker of the house. In 1982, he was appointed Federal Minister of Communications, and later became Minister of Steel Development. His term of office ended in December 1983, when a military coup brought Major-General Muhammadu Buhari to power.
In 2001, he was appointed National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), replacing Chief Barnabas Gemade. He held this position until January 2005, when he was forced to resign due to his criticism of President Olusegun Obasanjo's handling of a crisis in Anambra State.
Talking to reporters, however, Ogbeh claimed that he resigned only to avoid conflict within the party, and due to a desire to return to farming.
Later career.
In December 2005, Ogbeh formally resigned from the PDP.
As of 2009, he was chairman and managing director, Efugo Farms, Makurdi, and a member of Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships Incorporated, based in Philadelphia, United States of America.


Mibambwe IV Rutarindwa

Mibambwe IV Rutarindwa (??- december 1896,Marangara province, Nyanza, German East Africa) was Mwami of Rwanda between November 1895 and December 1896, having been made co-ruler by his father Kigeli IV Rwabugiri in 1889. Rutarindwa is sometime transcribed Rutalindwa.
Rule.
His adopted father, Kigeli IV Rwabugiri, had proclaimed him co-ruler in 1889, effectively designating him his successor. On Rwabugiri's unexpected death in 1895 while on an expedition in modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, he was proclaimed king.
Rwandan Queen Mothers were politically powerful. Rutarindwa's mother had died and, consequently, Rwabugiri appointed another of his wives, Kanjogera, as his surrogate mother. With the death of Rwabugiri, she and her brothers plotted to put her own young son Musinga, the future king Yuhi V Musinga, on the throne. This culminated in late 1896 in a battle between the King's and the Queen Mother's factions called the , named for the hill that Rutarindwa had moved his court to. After the battle, Rutarindwa committed suicide, and the royal drum was destroyed when his house was burnt down.


Hagit Yaso

Hagit Yaso (; born October 8, 1989) is an Israeli singer. She won the ninth season of "Kokhav Nolad", an Israeli television show, similar to "Pop Idol".
Early life.
Yaso is of Ethiopian Jewish descent. She was born in Sderot, and has two brothers and two sisters. Yaso's parents immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in the 1980s through Sudan. From an early age she loved to sing, and later on became a member of the band "Sderot Youth" (צעירי שדרות), in which she participated along with her sisters. During her military service, Yaso served in a military band. She is featured in the documentary film "".
In 2011, she participated in the "Kokhav Nolad 9". In her audition, Yaso sang Amir Benayoun's song "Omed BaSha'ar" (עומד בשער). During the show, Yaso sang in several languages, including Hebrew, English, Amharic and Moroccan Arabic.From the beginning of the show, Yaso stood out and she was often rated by the judges panel for having the "outstanding performance". Yaso reached the finals, which were held in Haifa, together with David Lavi and Liron Ramati. The first song Yaso sang in the finals was Ofra Haza's "Mishehu Tamid Holech Iti" (מישהו תמיד הולך איתי) and Idan Raichel's song "Medabrim Besheket" (מדברים בשקט). Yaso ended up winning the first place with 60% of the votes. She won a scholarship of 240,000 shekels, and a production contract from the well known music producer Ivri Lider.
After winning, Yaso and her parents were invited to the president's residence, where President Shimon Peres discussed with her parents their immigration to Israel from Ethiopia, and about her involvement in "Kokhav Nolad".
Yaso has toured and performed internationally. In January 2013, she toured in several cities across the US sponsored by Jewish National Fund. The highlight of her tour was a performance at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles, where she performed a duet of "Killing Me Softly" with the song's writer Charles Fox.
Personal life.
In 2011, Yaso began dating the Israeli former child actor Eliad Nachum (played in "Shemesh"), who previously performed with her in a military band during their military service. He is now a popular singer. They have since broken up.


Saldanha man

Saldanha man also known as Saldanha cranium or Elandsfontein cranium are fossilized remains of an archaic human. It is one of the key specimens for "Homo heidelbergensis". It has not been dated directly, and is estimated to be roughly 0.5 million years old.
The remains, which included a fragment of lower jaw, were found on an exposed surface between shifting sand dunes on the farm Elandsfontein, which is located near Hopefield, South Africa.
It was found associated with a variety of fossil vertebrates, and initially classified as "Homo saldanensis" (Drennan 1955).
Singer (1954) noted close resemblance to Kabwe 1 at Broken Hill (Zambia) and LH 18 at Laetoli (Tanzania).
Comparison with Kabwe 1 specifically, and thus classification as African "H. heidelbergensis" ("H. rhodesiensis") was also regularly supported by later authors.


Adisu Massala

Adisu Massala (, "Addīsū Messele", born 16 June 1961) is an Israeli politician.
Biography.
Adisu Masala was born in Gondar province, Ethiopia. He made aliyah in 1980 after crossing the Ethiopia–Sudan border and boarding a plane bound for Israel. He studied social work and mechanical engineering at Bar-Ilan University, gaining a BA and went on to work as a social worker. He also became chairman of the United Ethiopian Jewish Organisation.
Political career.
Masala was elected to the Knesset in the 1996 elections on the Labor Party list. However, he was one of three MKs to break away from the party to form One Nation, led by Amir Peretz. Adisu was placed fourth on the party's list for the 1999 elections, but lost his seat as the party won only two seats. He was placed fourth on the One Nation list again for the 2003 elections, but the party won only three seats.


Ahmad ibn Ali

Ahmad ibn Ali () (flourished mid-14th century) was the son of Jamal ad-Din I. The Emperor of Ethiopia Newaya Krestos made him Governor of Ifat after his father Ali ibn Sabr ad-Din unsuccessfully revolted against the Emperor and was put into prison.
Reign.
His father Ali was released from imprisonment after eight years and restored to the governorship, whereupon he treated Ahmad as a traitor, excluding him from all positions of authority. Ahmad called on the intervention of Emperor Newaya Krestos to gain a position over a single district; and his sons were considered outcasts by the rest of the Walashma family.


Hassan Bubacar Jallow

Hassan Bubacar Jallow (born 14 August 1951) is a Gambian judge who has served as Chief Justice of the Gambia since February 2017. He was the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from 2003 to 2015, and Prosecutor of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) from 2012 to 2016. He served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General from 1984 to 1994 under President Dawda Jawara.
Early life and education.
Jallow was born in Bansang, British Gambia on 14 August 1951. He was the son of Abubacar Jallow (d. 1997), a local imam. He attended Saint Augustine's High School in Banjul from 1963 to 1969, and the Gambia High School from 1969 to 1971. He studied at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1973 and graduated in 1976. He became a barrister-at-law in Nigeria in 1977 after studying for a year at the Nigerian Law School in Lagos. He acquired at master's degree in public international law from University College London in 1979.
Early career.
Jallow was called to the bar in the Gambia and Nigeria in 1977. He was enrolled as a barrister and solicitor of the supreme courts of the Gambia and Nigeria. Jallow worked as a state prosecutor at the Attorney General's Chambers in the Gambia from 1977 to 1982 and was principal state counsel for a period of time. He also served as acting Registrar General in charge of the registration of companies, patents, trademarks, and so on. At this time, he also worked as a legal expert for the Organisation of African Unity and held to draft the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights which was adopted in 1981.
Jallow was appointed as Solicitor General in 1982, and as Attorney General and Minister of Justice in July 1984. He was removed from this role following Yahya Jammeh's coup d'état in July 1994. He was also part of an expert group that helped draw up the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Banjul Charter), which came in force in 1986. Between 1989 and 1994, he served as the chairman of Banjul-based African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS). In 1997, he was found guilty by the Public Assets and Properties Recovery Commission, and in 2001, he was banned from holding public office for five years.
From December 1998 to July 2002, he served as a justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia. He also carried out a judicial evaluation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He worked for the Commonwealth of Nations as chair of their Governmental Working Group of Experts in Human Rights and as a member of the Commonwealth Arbitral Tribunal. In July 2002, he was suddenly dismissed from the government with no reason given but it was likely linked to a Supreme Court ruling in the Ousman Sabally case.
UN judge.
In 2002, he was appointed as a judge of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and served until 2003. In 2003, Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, nominated Jallow as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He was confirmed in this role by the United Nations Security Council, succeeding Carla Del Ponte on 15 September 2003. Jallow became the first ICTR Prosecutor to not also be the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. His mandate was renewed by the UN Security Council in 2007 and 2011.
On 1 March 2012, Jallow was also appointed as the Prosecutor of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), to serve for a four-year term. He was a member of the Independent Review Panel on UN Response to Allegations of Sexual Abuse by Foreign Military Forces in the Central African Republic, alongside Marie Deschamps and Yasmin Sooka. Upon the conclusion of his term, he was praised by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as "instrumental to the successful fulfilment of the mandate of the [ICTR] and the efficient conduct of the work of the Office of the Prosecutor". In 2015, Charles Chernor Jalloh of Florida International University and Alhagi Marong of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda praised Jallow's service in a research paper.
As Chief Justice.
On 15 February 2017, Jallow was sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Gambia after his appointment by newly elected President of the Gambia, Adama Barrow. At the ceremony, he said "I have heard on a number of occasions the president reiterate his commitment for the judiciary and to its effectiveness. This declaration coming from the Office of the President to maintain the independence of the Judiciary is, indeed, very assuring and an excellent starting point for a new Chief Justice."
In 2020, Jallow was part of an independent probe (led by Mary Robinson) of a report that cleared Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank, of corruption charges.
International Associations.
He is a member of the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative Advisory Council, a project of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis to establish the world’s first treaty on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.


Kiyimba of Buganda

Ntege Kiyimba was Kabaka (King) of the Kingdom of Buganda. He reigned from 1464 to 1484. He was the 6th Kabaka of Buganda.
Claim to the throne.
He was the sixth son of Kabaka Kiggala Mukaabya. His mother was Nabukalu, of the Lugave clan, the first wife of Kabaka Kiggala Mukaabya. He ascended the throne around 1464, when his father abdicated.
Married life.
He had two wives:
Death.
He died at Mpummudde and was initially buried at Lukwangu, Busiro. He was succeeded on the throne by his father, around 1484. He is buried at Sentema, Busiro, in modern-day Wakiso District.


History of Tembien

Tembien is a historic region in Tigray and one of the former provinces of Ethiopia. It is a mountainous area of that country. During the reforms in 1994–95, the old provinces were replaced with regions, zones and woredas. The area of the former province is now split over the woredas of Dogua Tembien and Kola Tembien.
It was located east of the Semien Province and north of Abergele, a historic district of the Begemder province. On the east, it was bordered by the Enderta Province.
The original capital of the province was Melfa, west of the current town of Hagere Selam; later on Abiy Addi, nowadays located in Kola Tembien ("Lower Tembien"), became the capital. The region reached a highpoint in the Tsatsen mountains at 2828 meters above sea level, just south of Hagere Selam.
Prehistory.
Tembien holds numerous prehistoric sites, which have been dated to the Middle Stone Age in Ayninbirkekin, or Pastoral Neolithic in Aregen and Menachek.
The Dabo Zellelew cave in Aregen at a height of about 2000 metres, has been explored over 14.4 m but its distance is claimed to be way longer (). It contains lithic tools, potsherds, engravings and paintings of Pastoral Neolithic age.
The Mihdar Ab’ur cave in the village of Mahba in Aregen at a height of about 2500 metres, is some 64 m long (). It contains engravings and paintings of Pastoral Neolithic age.
The Danei Kawlos cave in the Tsech'i gorge at the west of Menachek at a height of about 2020 metres, is some 13.5 metres long (). It contains lithic tools, potsherds, and faunal remains of Pastoral Neolithic age.
Further down, the May Ila open-air site in the Tsech'i gorge at the extreme west of Menachek at a height of about 1990 metres (). It contains blades, blade cores, and a few potsherds of Pastoral Neolithic age.
These sites are found on the routes that lead from the northwestern lowlands of Ethiopia to the northern highlands via Tembien that holds a large number of distributions of rock art sites.
Historical geography.
The border between Tigray proper (area surrounding Aksum and Adwa) and Tembien traditionally was the Wer’i river. This is why Tembien was also called “Wer’i Mellash” (‘beyond the Wer’i’).
Whereas several other Tigrinya-speaking provinces were less linked with the centre, Tembien was often linked with Tigray proper (Adwa) in a dynamic way. In the rainy season, Tembien became full autonomous because the Wer’i river was an unpassable border. However, during dry seasons Tembien accepted the authority of Tigray proper.
Tembien appears on indigenous maps of the northern Horn of Africa in the 15th Century.
A history linked to ecology and seasonality.
In Tembien's history, the farmers’ culture, life cycle and livelihood linked with the land are important.
Political ecology.
There were hierarchical structures in which the large landowners owned most of the land, assumed positions and controlled the peasants. It was common that half of the crop yield needed to be given to the lord what led to great misery in the villages.
Importance of seasons.
The seasons organised also the (political) life: after the harvest, young men often migrated seasonally to
War cycles.
Young farmers, at the slack season, and in need of additional income, were often enrolled in armies, where they hoped to get noticed and receive a position. Hence, the war cycle followed the seasons. In the rainy seasons, when warfare was difficult anyway, the farmers were back on their land to plough and harvest.
Christianity in Tembien.
As evidenced by the numerous monolithic churches in Tembien, the socio-political organisation is based on Orthodox Christianity since ancient times. There are even manuscripts referring to a mediaeval monastic movement, in which the leaders originated from Tembien. There is an important pilgrimage every year to the Abba Selama monastery, situated on an almost inaccessible rock that can only be reached at the peril of one's life. After Aksum, this would be the oldest church of Ethiopia, established by the first Syrian missionary, Frumentius, commonly named “Abba Selama”. The monastery was even represented on a 17th-century map of Ethiopia. Like Mount Athos in Greece, the local monks do not recognise the state authority over the monastery.
Emperor Yohannes IV was baptised at the St. Mary church of Melfa. It is painted with scenes of his reign, and there are numerous gifts of the Emperor present in the church. Nowadays, every church serves also as a meeting place for the community. On Sundays, the villagers meet in the church compound after church service around a cup of blessed siwa (beer). This and other informal traditional meetings and associations allow self-organisation of the peasant communities.
The Tembien dynasty.
Early rulers of Tembien.
The first written source that mentions Tembien is about a war expedition of one of its late-Aksumite rulers against the Nubian Alodia kingdom.
Written sources particularly about “princes of Tembien” became more dense starting from the 14th C. Starting from the 17th century the title of lord of Tembien was transmitted in the same family, while also getting approval from the Ethiopian Emperor. Hence, the degree of autonomy could vary. We know that, in the 17th C., Tembien was part of the larger Agame, led by Kiflewahid, but after his death, Tembien became autonomous.
Emperor Yohannes IV.
As of the 19th Century, both oral traditions and written documents mention that the rulers of Tembien were based in Melfa.
Best known is Emperor Yohannes IV, whose forefathers had managed to gain power through marriage with all the surrounding ruling families. Kassa (the future emperor Yohannes) controlled the Tembien highlands and later the whole of Tigray; ultimately he crowned himself king of kings of Ethiopia in 1872.
However, Emperor Yohannes IV did not establish his capital in Tembien (due to relative inaccessibility), but in Mekelle and Adwa - these towns were well connected to the Red Sea and to inner Ethiopia. However Yohannes’ kept strong links with Tembien, as indicated by the establishment of a (locally paved) horse-track between Melfa and Mekelle, passing through the V-notched Ksad Mederbai. He also ordered to build the Abune Aregawi church in Zeyi, after being informed about the discovery of a large cave there. Also his successors kept connections with Tembien:
The dynasty in Tembien.
There were complex succession rules in Tembien, including transfer of positions through female lines. Some of the better-known 19th century higher ranked leaders of Tembien were:
1930s and 1940s.
First battle of Tembien.
In 1935 and 1936, the Italians invaded Ethiopia, coming from the north (Eritrea). Tembien with its mountains and river gorges was a major obstacle on their way south. For instance, the armies of Seyoum Mengesha and Kassa Hailu regrouped there, and in January 1936, they caused important losses to the Italian army in the four-days First Battle of Tembien.
War crimes and suffering.
However, at the end of February, a turning point came when the Italians targeted the counterattacking Tembien troops from the north and the south, with air force support and large-scale use of mustard gas. This Second Battle of Tembien led to the Italians capturing the Tembien highlands and the final retreat of "ras" Siyyum and "ras" Kasa to the south. Souvenirs of this period are still vivid, and particularly the people know the caves and other places where their grandparents went hiding for the Italian bomb and gas attacks.
Strategic places, battle fields, and war crime scenes in Tembien.
Many strategic places, battle fields, and locations of mustard gas bombings during the Italian wars are located in Tembien. In history books, they are commonly named by their Italian transliteration of the original Tigrinya name. This inventory provides the list of warfare sites with the (current) place name in Tigrinya, and their location.
Italian investments and retreat.
As the Italians anticipated to stay for many years, they invested in road and other infrastructure projects, which also furthered some urbanisation along the roads, such as in Abiy Addi, which attracted settlers. Nevertheless, there was a centre of local resistance in Tembien, what greatly hindered a stable Italian presence. The Italians retreated in 1941.
First Woyane rebellion.
The traditions of autonomy, the historical role in Tigrayan politics, and relative isolation on top of a massif made Tembien a centre of resistance after the Italian retreat. Tembien participated actively in the Woyane rebellion in 1943 that could only be put down with the help of the British Royal Air Force.
Capitals.
For a long time, Melfa, west of Hagere Selam, was the capital of Tembien; later on, the administration was established in Abiy Addi, as it was easier of access.
In 1951, Gebru Gebrehiwot, the new governor, decided to create a new capital of Tembien. First the location of Melfa was chosen. As the inhabitants of Melfa rejected the idea, Hagere Selam was created as a new town. It used already to be an open-air market place (hence the name "Idaga Hamus" or "Thursday market") – the place was a strategically located mountain saddle, also called "May Aleqti". In practice, the capital remained in Abiy Addi. It was only after the district of Dogu’a Tembien was created that Hagere Selam started to grow. Basic modern infrastructure (electricity, tap water) came only in the early years 2000.
Civil War.
Both during the reign of Emperor Haile Sillasie and that of the military Derg regime, Tembien was marginalised, despite its closeness to Mekelle. In the 1980s, the TPLF, established its headquarters in a cave, again near Melfa, more particularly in Addi Geza'iti. From these underground rooms and offices cut out in sandstone cliffs, the TPLF carried out its political activities, including a major land reform; it was from here that the offensives were organised till the conquest of Addis Ababa in 1991.


Governor of British Mauritius

The Governor of Mauritius was the official who governed the Crown Colony of Mauritius (now Republic of Mauritius) during the British colonial period between 1810 and 1968. Upon the end of British rule and the independence of Mauritius in 1968, this office was replaced by the Governor-General, who represented the British Monarch and not the Government of the United Kingdom as did the Governor. The office of Governor-General was itself abolished in 1992 and replaced by the post of President when Mauritius became a Republic.
List of Governors (1810–1968).
A list of British Governors of Mauritius from 1810 to 1968.


Ana II of Matamba

Ana II Guterres da Silva Ngola Kanini (died 1756) was the queen regnant of the Kingdom of Ndongo and Matamba from 1742 to 1756.
Ana II has been referred to as the daughter of queen Verónica I Guterres, but was in fact her granddaughter. Because there is an interregnum between the year Afonso I is said to have ended his reign in 1741, and the year in which Ana II is said to have succeeded in 1742, there is a theory that she was preceded by her sister queen Juliana I Guterres, and that she adopted Juliana's daughter Verónica, her niece, as her heir and crown princess. This is not confirmed, but Verónica was referred to as her daughter and was named her designated heir to the throne.
Ana II faced a Portuguese invasion in 1744. The invasion of Matamba by Portuguese forces in 1744 was one of their largest military operations in the eighteenth century. In the course of their attack, Matamba's army inflicted a serious defeat on the Portuguese, but in spite of this, a remnant of the army managed to reach the capital of Matamba. In order to avoid a long war and to get them to withdraw, Ana II signed a treaty of vassalage with Portugal which renewed points conceded by Verónica in 1683. While the treaty allowed Portugal to claim Matamba as a vassal, and opened up Matamba to Portuguese trade, it had little effect on the real sovereignty of Matmaba, or indeed in the conduct of trade. Ana II, like Verónica before her, was interested in developing Matamba as a Christian country, routinely sending letters to the Capuchin prefect of Congo and Angola or the Portuguese authorities requesting missionaries come and establish permanent bases in her country. While the country was visited by missionaries from Cahenda and also from the Barefoot Carmelites, a permanent mission was not established.
She died in 1756 and was succeeded by her heir, Verónica II, who was two years later deposed and killed by her daughter, Ana III.


2000 Mauritian general election

General elections were held in Mauritius on 11 September 2000 to elect the members of the National Assembly.
The opposition Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) party decisively won the elections in coalition with the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), defeating the governing Mauritian Labour Party (MLP) led coalition. They formed together the MSM/MMM As a result, in a pre-election deal Anerood Jugnauth of the Militant Socialist Movement became Prime Minister of Mauritius before handing over to Paul Bérenger of the Mauritian Militant Movement in 2003; Bérenger would become the first non-Hindu Prime Minister of Mauritius.
Background.
The Mauritian Labour Party led by Navin Ramgoolam had governed Mauritius since winning the 1995 election. A new election had to be held by December 2000 and Ramgoolam dissolved parliament to call the election on 11 August 2000. He expected to be able to win the election in a three-way contest with the Mauritian Militant Movement and Militant Socialist Movement parties splitting the opposition vote between them. However ten days after the election was called the two main opposition parties agreed a deal.
The MSM led by Anerood Jugnauth and MMM led by Paul Bérenger agreed that if they won the election Jugnauth would become Prime Minister. They agreed that after three years he would step down as Prime Minister to become the President of Mauritius with enhanced powers, and that Bérenger would become Prime Minister, the first non-Hindu to do so.
Election rules.
The election was conducted under the first past the post system with three Members of parliament being elected from each of 20 mainland constituencies. A further two MPs were elected from the island of Rodrigues. Each voter was required to vote for three candidates. Once these 62 MPs were decided the Supervisory Electoral Commission chose the eight 'best losers' to prevent any ethnic community or political party from being underrepresented. The Commission chose four MPs to balance the ethnic groups (Hindus, Muslims, Chinese and general population) and another four to balance the political parties. The 'best losers' could only come from candidates who came fourth in the 20 mainland constituencies.
Campaign.
There were 43 parties putting forth 535 candidates but the main contest was between the two main coalitions that campaigned on similar platforms with the economy being the dominate election issue. The governing Mauritian Labour Party promised to raise civil servants' wages and reduce the prices of drinks while the main opposition attacked corruption. Both the government and opposition parties pledged to create 70,000 jobs.
The campaign was peaceful and election day was quiet with the sale or serving of alcohol banned for two days during the election to prevent trouble. Observers from the Southern African Development Community praised the election for its efficient and fair conduct and the high turnout. The opposition Mauritian Militant Movement and Militant Socialist Movement parties won a decisive victory almost wiping out the governing party and the Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam admitted defeat the day after the election. Gender activists were disappointed with the results which saw only four seats won by women, a decline on the previous election in 1995.


Robert Petit

Robert Petit is a Canadian lawyer who during 2006 and 2009 was the International Co-Prosecutor for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, which is aiming to try Khmer Rouge leaders for violations of international criminal law in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. He led the investigation and prosecution of five senior most leaders of the Khmer Rouge namely Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, Khieu Samphan, and Kang Kek Iew. The last was recently convicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Petit also initiated the prosecution of five other Khmer Rouge leaders whose cases are still under investigation by the United Nations-backed tribunal.
Petit was a Crown prosecutor in Montreal for eight years. From 1996 to 1999, he was a Legal Officer in the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Between 1999 and 2004, he was a Regional Legal Advisor for the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, a Prosecutor for the Serious Crimes Unit of the United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor, and a Senior Trial Attorney for the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
At the Rwanda Tribunal, Petit drafted indictments in the Government, Butare, Hategekimana, and Nizeyimana cases. At the Special Court for Sierra Leone, he led the task force that prosecuted six indictees in two separate cases for crimes against humanity, including terrorism and war crimes. In UNMIK, Petit provided legal advice to the International Administrator of one of five Regions of Kosovo on various issues including the implementation of an international judiciary and issues arising out of the deployment of international police and armed forces. In UNMIT, he exercised criminal investigative functions and led the prosecutions of persons suspected of mass crimes committed during a period of national political transition in East Timor.
Currently, Petit serves as a Counsel in the Crimes Against Humanity and the War Crimes Section of Justice Canada. He is responsible for working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who lead investigations as well as the Public Prosecutions Service of Canada who prosecute mass atrocity cases in Canadian courts with special focus on Africa.
Petit was called to the Quebec Bar in 1987 and has spoken and written extensively on international humanitarian and human rights laws. In 2009, he received the Frederick K. Cox International Humanitarian Award for Global reform at the Case Western School of Law, Cleveland.
He speaks fluent English and French.
Petit was selected in 2011 as one of the four final candidates to succeed Luis Moreno-Ocampo as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Hague.


Umaru Bago Tafida

Umaru Bago Tafida III (born 1954) is the 12th Emir, Etsu, or traditional ruler of Lapai in Niger State, Nigeria appointed in July 2002.
He succeeded Emir Alhaji Muhammadu Kobo, who died at the age of 92 after ruling for 48 years, and was appointed to the stool by the Niger State governor Abdulkadir Kure.
Umaru's turbanning and presentation of staff of office was attended by Vice president Atiku Abubakar and former Military President Ibrahim Babangida.
Biography.
As a member of the Niger State Council of Chiefs, in March 2003, he endorsed the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the upcoming elections.
Other members of the council endorsing the PDP included the Etsu Nupe (Sanda Ndayako), Emir of Suleja (Awwal Ibrahim), Etsu Agaie, Emir of Minna and Emir of Kagara.
In January 2009, he was among leaders supporting Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole in calling for a probe into corruption in the 1999-2007 administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In July 2009, he was part of a delegation led by the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar and including the Etsu Agaie, Muhammadu Kudu Abubakar that called on the House of Assembly to consider formation of a new Edu State as a base for the Nupe people.
In June 2010, a clash between Fulani cattle herdsmen and Nupe farmers in Lapai Emirate caused about 15 deaths. The Fulanis, who arrived by bus armed with sophisticated weapons and waited for villagers to emerge from the Mosque after prayers, were apparently seeking revenge for an earlier killing. Fidau prayers were held at the palace of Umar Bago before the bodies were interred.


Mikael Sehul

Mikael Sehul (Tigrinya "Mikael the Astute" – his name at birth was "Blatta" Mikael; (born "c." 1692—died 1784, Adwa, Eth.),a Nobleman who ruled Ethiopia for a period of 25 years as regent of a series of weak emperors. He brought to an end the ancient Solomonic dynasty. He was also a Ras or governor of Tigray 1748–71 and again from 1772 until his death. He was a major political figure during the reign of Emperor Iyasu II and his successors until almost the time of his death.
The Scottish explorer James Bruce met Sehul during his stay in Ethiopia, and recorded the following description of the Ras when he granted Bruce an audience:
We went in, and saw the old man sitting upon a sofa; his white hair was dressed in many short curls. He appeared to be thoughtful, but not displeased; his face was lean, his eyes quick and vivid, but seemed to be a little sore from exposure to the weather. he seemed to be about six feet high, though his lameness made it difficult to guess with accuracy. His air was perfectly free from constraint, what the French call "degagée". In face and person he was liker my learned and worthy friend, the Count de Buffon, than any two men I ever saw in the world. They must have been bad physiognomists that did not discern his capacity and understanding by his very countenance. Every look conveyed a sentiment with it: he seemed to have no occasion for other language, and indeed spoke little.
Biography.
Mikael was born to Abeto Hezeqeyas Wolde Hawaryot and Woizero Ishate Mariam, the daughter of Azzaz Yakub in the district of Na'eder. Both of his parents claimed descent from the Solomonic dynasty through his ancestor "Ras" Faris the Great, and his father used the title "Abeto", a prince of imperial cadet line. Mikael's first official wife was Woizero Walatta Gabr'el (died at Adwa after 1766); his second was Woizero Aster, daughter of Empress Mentewab.
Sehul first enters history as having played a part in some of the difficulties that were experienced by the delegation sent to Cairo to obtain a new "Abuna" (bishop) for the empire in 1745. On their outbound trip, the party had been held up at Massawa by the local Naib for six months, and only released them after they gave him half of their funds. On the return trip, Abuna Yohannes was held for ransom at Arqiqo until the abbot of the monastery of Debre Bizen helped him to escape. This affront was too serious to be overlooked, and the then "Dejazmach" Mikael was subjected to a punitive campaign by the Emperor Iyasu II. However "Dejazmach" Mikael remained too powerful, and he was soon forgiven.
"Dejazmach" Mikael was offended by the behavior of his superior "Ras" Anda Haymanot king of Midre Bahri during a hunting expedition, and returned to Adwa which he fortified, and rebelled from Anda Haymanot. Eventually Mikael fought, captured, then executed his one-time master in 1759. Adwa was located at a strategic point on the trade route between Massawa and Gondar, and from the fees and duties he extracted he was able to recruit an army of 8000 men and arm them with muskets.
During the reign of Iyasu II's successor Iyoas I, "Dejazmach" Mikael found himself the beneficiary of two dynastic ties to the Imperial house: Empress Mentewab in 1769 married him to her daughter Aster, and Mikael's son, Wolde Hayawrat, was married to another daughter of the Empress, Altash. It was at this time that Mikael was granted the title of "Ras".
Upon the death of Iyasu II, his son Iyoas took the throne and rivalry exploded between the mother of the late Emperor and his widow. Empress Mentewab had been crowned co-ruler when her then underage son had succeeded her husband. Now that her son was gone, she believed that she was entitled to remain as co-ruler. However, Iyasu's widow, Welete Bersabe (known as Wubit), strongly believed that it was her turn to take the leading role at the court of her son Iyoas as her mother-in-law had done during the previous reign. The young Emperor took the side of his mother against his grandmother. Empress Mentewab gathered her relatives from her native Qwara and their forces flooded into Gondar to support her claims. When news of the arrival of the Qwaran troops arrived, Welete Bersabe also summoned her relatives from Yejju, and throngs of soldiers arrived from that district to uphold her claims. The city of Gondar was swamped by these two tense armies, and a bloodbath seemed imminent.
To resolve the standoff, Empress Mentewab looked to her son-in-law "Ras" Mikael to intervene. Mikael Sehul arrived with an army of 26,000 promising to mediate the dispute between the two queens and their followers. He took control of the capital city of Gondar and assumed an increasingly dominant role.
On 22 January 1768, Mikael was made "Ras Bitwodad" and "Enderase" of the Empire. His growing power alarmed Emperor Iyoas, and after secretly exchanging messages with Fasil the Emperor ordered Ras Mikael to return to Tigray. The "Ras" disobeyed and defeated Fasil's army. He returned to Gondar and demanded an assembly of the nobility so "Ras" Mikael Sehul could show his proof that the Emperor Iyoas had plotted to have him killed while he was defending his throne for him.
The assembly was presented with testimony, and agreed that it was a grievous crime, deserving of death. However, Ethiopian law stated that a monarch could not be killed, so they merely confined the Emperor to his palace. Mikael Sehul then ordered the Emperor killed; as it was considered wrong to pierce the heir of Solomon with a spear, cut him with a sword, or to strike him with bullets, Mikael Sehul ordered the Emperor strangled with a length of silk in imperial red in January 1769. This murder of Emperor Iyoas I devastated both dowager queens, Empresses Mentewab and Welete Bersabe, and Mentewab secluded herself at her palace at Qusquam where she buried her grandson with much pomp and grandeur, never again participating in state affairs which she had run since the death of her husband Emperor Bakaffa. Empress Welete Bersabe retired to Yejju in her grief, but her Yejju relatives would later return to prominence seizing the regency in subsequent reigns. Some historians date the beginning of the "Zemene Mesafint" era of the decline of the monarchy and the rise of the regional aristocracy and the fragmentation of state power, to the murder of Emperor Iyoas I at the order of Mikael Sehul.
Ras Mikael then appointed the next two emperors: Yohannes II, who proved to be a nonentity and was quickly gotten rid of; then Tekle Haymanot II. Despite his power over the throne, the populace rebelled; Ras Mikael responded with a reign of terror over Gondar (1770), but failed to control the countryside where the armies of Fasil, Goshu of Amhara, and Wand Bewossen of Begemder allied to fight him. The parties met south of Teda in the Three battles of Sarbakusa; Ras Mikael was defeated and surrendered to Wand Bewossen on 4 June 1771. Wand Bewossen imprisoned Mikael Sehul for a year, then either sent him back to Tigray to live out his last years as governor of that province, or Ras Mikael voluntarily retired to that province.
He was succeeded, each briefly, by his son Wolde Samuel of Tigray, then by his grandson Wolde Gabriel, and by his nephew Gabre Maskal who lost to "Ras" Wolde Selassie of Enderta.
Ras Mikael intervened in the Ethiopian Church, and was a champion of the Karva Haymanot doctrine.


Bogoro massacre

The assault on Bogoro, which occurred on February 24, 2003, was an attack on the village of Bogoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) and the Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri (FRPI). The attackers allegedly went on an "indiscriminate killing spree", killing at least 200 civilians, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and sexually enslaving women and girls. Two rebel leaders, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, have been charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes and crimes against humanity over their alleged role in planning the attack.
Background.
Bogoro is a village in Ituri Province, in the north-east of the DRC. Between 1999 and 2003, Ituri was the scene of a violent conflict between the Lendu, Ngiti and Hema ethnic groups. The Hema-dominated Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) seized control of Bunia, the district capital, in August 2002.
Bogoro was a strategically important town on the road between Bunia and the border with Uganda, with a UPC military camp in the middle of the town. The attack aimed to drive the UPC from Bogoro, but it also appeared to be a "reprisal operation against the Hema civilian population". It was part of a plan by Lendu and Ngiti rebels to attack predominantly Hema villages in preparation for an assault on Bunia.
Attack.
On 24 February 2003, hundreds of FNI and FRPI fighters — including children under the age of fifteen — attacked Bogoro with machetes, spears, arrows, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, rocket launchers and firearms. According to the ICC, they circled the village and "converged towards the centre on a killing spree", killing at least 200 civilians, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and sexually enslaving women and girls. Some residents of the village were killed by setting their houses on fire, others were hacked to death with machetes. The UN reported that 173 of the victims were under the age of 18.
UPC leader Thomas Lubanga claimed that 400 people were killed and 500 were missing after the attack. "The civilian population was very, very coldly massacred," he said.
The attack succeeded in pushing UPC forces out of Bogoro within a few hours and, ten days later, the Lendu and Ngiti drove the UPC from Bunia.
International Criminal Court proceedings.
In March 2004, the DRC government referred the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In July 2007, the Court found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that two rebel leaders, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, bore individual criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Bogoro attack, and issued sealed warrants for their arrest. Both men were charged with six counts of war crimes (willful killing; inhuman treatment or cruel treatment; using children under the age of fifteen years to participate actively in hostilities; sexual slavery; intentionally directing attacks against civilians; and pillaging) and three counts of crimes against humanity (murder, inhumane acts and sexual slavery). They are alleged to have ordered their fighters to "wipe out" the village of Bogoro.
Katanga, who had been held by the Congolese authorities since March 2005, was transferred to the ICC in October 2007. Ngudjolo was arrested by the Congolese authorities on 6 February 2008 and surrendered to the ICC. The two men will be tried jointly; the hearing to confirm the charges against them began on 27 June 2008.


Louis Raymond (tennis)

Louis Bosman Raymond (28 June 1895 – 30 January 1962) was a male tennis player from South Africa. At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, he defeated Ichiya Kumagai in the finals to win the gold medal.
He won the South African Championships six times; four consecutive titles from 1921 through 1924 as well as victories in 1930 and 1931.
In 1924 he made it to the semifinal of the singles event at the Wimbledon Championships, losing to eventual champion Jean Borotra in straight sets. In 1927 he reached the quarterfinal of the French Championship in which he was defeated by Bill Tilden.
Between 1919 and 1931, Raymond played in ten ties for the South African Davis Cup team and has a record of ten wins and eleven losses.
In Tilden's book, "The Art of Lawn Tennis", Raymond is described as a "hard working and deserving player" and someone who "attains success by industry rather than natural talent".


Jan Cornelius van Sambeek

Jan Cornelius van Sambeek, M.Afr. (or John van Sambeek) was a Dutch White Fathers missionary who was the Vicar Apostolic of Tanganyika (1936–1946), and then Bishop of Kigoma (1946–1957), in the former British-administered Tanganyika Territory, now Tanzania.
Early years.
Jan Cornelius van Sambeek was born on 23 April 1886 at Veldhoven, Netherlands.
He came from a family of ten. One of his sisters became a nun, and three of his brothers became priests.
He studied Theology at Carthage in Tunisia.
On 29 June 1911 he was ordained a priest of the White Fathers (Society of Missionaries of Africa).
He remained in the Netherlands during World War I (1914–1918).
Missionary.
In 1919 van Sambeek was assigned to the Chilubula mission in the Apostolic Vicariate of Bangweolo, in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. For the next twelve years he worked with the government in developing Catholic schools.
He threw himself into the work with great energy and enthusiasm.
He opened the Teacher Training College of Rosa in 1927, and became the college's first principal. He was later made Education Secretary for the diocese.
He wrote a number of school books including "Ifya Bukaya", which is still in use today.
He had an extraordinary aptitude for languages, and wrote many books in the Bemba language covering a range of subjects.
Van Sambeek visited the copperbelt for two weeks in 1929 with Fr. Louis Etienne.
He recommended a separate mission to support the miners, but this was not accepted.
In 1932 he took home leave, following which he was made Prefect Apostolic of Tukuyu in Tanganyika.
There he prepared a Nyakyusa dictionary and a Safwa grammar.
He returned to Northern Rhodesia in December 1933 as Administrator of the new Mission Sui Juris of Lwangwa.
In 1934 he founded the Ilondola (Maria Magdalena de Puzzi) mission in Chinsali District
and the Chalabesa (St. Joseph) mission among the Bisa in the Mpika District.
In 1936 he established the missions of Katibunga, Christ the King (Mpika) and Mulilansolo near Isoka and St. John the Apostle, (Chinsali).
Vicar Apostolic and bishop.
Van Sambeek was appointed Titular Bishop of Gergis and Vicar Apostolic of Tanganyika (now the Diocese of Sumbawanga). on 19 November 1936.
On 7 May 1937 he was ordained bishop by Bishop Anton Oomen.
On 10 May 1946 the Apostolic Vicariate of Kigoma was formed from part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tanganyika.
Van Sambeek kept the less-developed northern Buha region of the diocese.
He was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Kigoma.
On 25 March 1953 the Apostolic Vicariate was promoted to the Diocese of Kigoma.
Van Sambeek was appointed Bishop of Kigoma, holding this position until he resigned on 22 November 1957.
As bishop he translated many Christian works into the Ha language, and wrote a book on local customs.
When van Sambeek resigned he was made Titular Bishop of Tracula.
He remained in the diocese, dying in Kabanga on 25 December 1966.
References.
Citations
Sources


2005 Somaliland parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Somaliland on 29 September 2005. They were the first multiparty parliamentary election conducted in the country.
Electoral system.
The 82 members of the House of Representatives were elected by open list proportional representation with the six multi-member constituencies based on the regions. The number of seats for each region was based on those used for the 1960 elections and multiplied by 2.5.
Campaign.
At the time of the elections, the constitution limited the number of political parties to three:
A total of 246 candidates contested the elections, including five women.
Conduct.
A team of 76 observers from Canada, Finland, Kenya, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zimbabwe monitored the polls. They described that the elections were conducted in a peaceful condition and were generally free and fair, nonetheless, the vote had fallen short of meeting several international standards.


Charles de Chavannes

Fortuné Charles de Chavannes, born 19 May 1853 in Lyon and died 7 February 1940 in Antibes, was a French colonial administrator. He accompanied Savorgnan de Brazza on the Mission de l'Ouest africain from 1883 to 1886, and participated in the exploration and establishment of French Congo.
He authored several books about French colonial history in Equatorial Africa.
Life.
He studied law at the University of Lyon and became a lawyer in 1877. In March 1883 he became the private secretary of Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza and accompanied him to Africa. With Malamine Camara he participated in the founding of Brazzaville of which he was the first European resident. Living in Bas-Congo and Niaré (1886-1889), he was named lieutenant governor of Gabon in Libreville in March 1889 following the departure of Noël Ballay.
As France's plenipotentiary minister and technical delegate to the Brussels Commission (1890), in 1891 he received the title of Colonial Delegate to the Trans-Sahara Commission and to the Franco-Spanish Border Commission. He returned, ailing, to France in 1894. His friend Albert Dolisie succeeded him.
In 1897, he was named an honorary governor.


Arthur Davidson (equerry)

Colonel Sir Arthur Davidson, (12 November 1856 – 16 October 1922) was a British soldier and courtier.
Davidson was born in Shooter's Hill, Kent, and grew up in Welwyn, Hertfordshire. He was educated at Henley Grammar School and Bute House School, Petersham. In September 1875 he was commissioned Sub-Lieutenant in the 4th Foot, but a year later transferred to the 60th Rifles and was posted to the 2nd Battalion in India. Soon afterwards he was promoted Lieutenant. He took part in the Second Afghan War in 1878–1880 and was appointed ADC to Lieutenant-General Sir Donald Stewart, and later to Major-General Ross. He served in the Boer War in 1881 and fought at the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir in 1882. In 1883 he was appointed Assistant Inspector of Army Signalling at Aldershot, a position he held until 1889, with the temporary rank of Captain. In 1885 he was promoted substantive Captain and a month later promoted Brevet Major in belated recognition of his services in Afghanistan five years earlier. He took part in the Bechuanaland Expedition of 1885.
In 1890 Davidson was appointed ADC to Field Marshal The Duke of Cambridge. He was promoted substantive major in 1893 and lieutenant-colonel in 1895, and on the duke's resignation as Commander-in-Chief later the same year entered the Royal Household as Groom in Waiting in Ordinary to The Queen. He was promoted to Equerry in Ordinary in January 1896, and continued to hold the position when Edward VII acceded to the throne in 1901. He was appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order 4th Class (MVO) in 1896, and Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 1901. Appointment as Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) came in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and he was invested by King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 8 August 1902. He was promoted Brevet colonel on 23 September 1902 and retired from the Army later the same year.
He later became Assistant Keeper of the Privy Purse and Assistant Private Secretary to the King, while also remaining an Equerry. In 1906 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO). On King Edward's death in 1910 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the Accession Honours and then appointed Extra Equerry to the new King George V and Equerry to Queen Alexandra, holding both positions until his death at Sandringham. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in the 1921 Birthday Honours.


2020 Malawian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Malawi on 23 June 2020, having originally been scheduled for 19 May and later 2 July. They followed the annulment of the results of the 2019 presidential elections, in which Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party had received the most votes.
The result of the re-run elections was a victory for Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party, who defeated Mutharika by margin of 59% to 40%.
Background.
In the May 2019 general elections, incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was re-elected with 39% of the vote, defeating Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (35%) and Saulos Chilima of the United Transformation Movement (20%). The DPP also remained the largest party in the National Assembly, winning 62 of the 193 seats. However, the presidential election was challenged in court by Chakwera and Chilima, and in February 2020 the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election results, citing evidence of irregularities, and ordered fresh elections be held within 150 days.
Parliament passed the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act (PPEA) Amendment Bill on 24 February, setting 19 May as the date for the new presidential elections and extending the terms of MPs and local councillors by one year to allow for harmonised presidential, parliamentary and local elections in 2025. In March the Malawi Electoral Commission announced a new election date, 2 July, one day before the 150 day limit to hold elections set by the Constitutional Court. On 21 May the Legal Affairs committee of parliament endorsed for fresh presidential elections to be held on 23 June rather than 2 July.
Candidates.
Lazarus Chakwera and Peter Kuwani filed their respective nominations on 6 May 2020. Peter Mutharika filed his nomination the following day, with Atupele Muluzi as his running mate.
Electoral system.
As a result of the Constitutional Court ruling, the President of Malawi will be elected using the two-round system, replacing the former first-past-the-post system used in 2019.
Opinion polls.
A poll conducted by IPOR Malawi showed that 53% of respondents expected Lazarus Chakwera to win the election, while 31% expected Mutharika to win.
On a national level, according to the polls, 51% would vote for Chakwera, while 33% for Mutharika and 0.2% for Peter Kuwani.
Another poll by Afrobarometer suggested that Chakwera was most likely to win the election.
Reactions.
Opposition figures in other African countries have been reportedly congratulating Chakwera's victory, including the leader of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change, Nelson Chamisa, leader of Tanzania's Alliance for Change and Transparency, Zitto Kabwe, former leader of South Africa's Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane, leader of Zambia's National Democratic Congress Chishimba Kambwili, and aspiring presidential candidate for the 2021 Ugandan general election Henry Tumukunde.


Kayemba of Buganda

Kayemba Kisiki was Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda between 1690 and 1704. He was the seventeenth (17th) Kabaka of Buganda.
Claim to the throne.
He was the third son of Kabaka Kateregga Kamegere, Kabaka of Buganda, who reigned between 1644 and 1674. His mother was Namutebi of the Mamba clan, who was the eighth (8th) of his father's nine wives. He ascended the throne upon the death of his elder brother. He established his capital at Lunnyo. Lunnyo is located near the city of Entebbe, close to where the current Uganda State House stands today.
Married life.
He married three wives:
Issue.
He fathered three sons:
The final years.
Kabaka Kayemba died at an advanced age around 1704. He is buried at Nabulagala, Busiro.


List of general elections in Ghana

This is a list of elections held in the British colony of the Gold Coast which later expanded to include the Northern Territories, Ashanti Region and the Trans-Volta Togoland prior to becoming the Republic of Ghana.
Gold Coast era.
During the colonial era, the right to vote was very restricted. Only a privileged few had the right to vote and only a few seats were up for election in the legislative assembly. Those who voted were from urban areas, owned property and the council of chiefs. The first legislative council election took place in 1925. Between 1927 and 1944, there were a total of 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Of these, only nine were elected by natives. Six were elected by the three Provincial Councils in existence at the time and three were directly elected by very limited adult suffrage in Accra, Cape Coast and Sekondi. The 1951 election was the first in Africa to be held under universal suffrage.
In the 1927 Gold Coast general election, four of the nine Africans elected on the Legislative Council were J. E. Casely Hayford (Sekondi), John Glover Addo (Accra), Kobina Arku Korsah (Cape Coast) and Nana Ofori Atta for the Western Province.
In the 1931 general election, three of the elected 9 Africans were Frederick Nanka-Bruce (Accra), Kobina Arku Korsah for Cape Coast and George James Christian (Sekondi).
Korsah and Christian retained their seats in the 1935 general election. Due to some controversies, the Accra election was rerun in 1936 and was won by Kojo Thompson. The three municipal elected members of the Legislative Council in 1944 were Tufuhin Moore (Cape Coast), Akilagpa Sawyerr (Accra) and Charles William Tachie-Menson (Sekondi).
Universal suffrage from 1951.
The first election to be held under universal suffrage was the 1951 Gold Coast general election held on 8 February 1951. There was an 84-seat Legislative Assembly with 38 elected members being directly elected and the rest being appointed. Kwame Nkrumah who was then in prison on a three years sentence for sedition was released from jail by Charles Noble Arden-Clarke, the Governor of the Gold Coast and invited in order to become the Leader of Government Business. His party, the Convention People's Party won 34 of the 38 elected seats in the election. Following a change in the constitution, the Assembly was expanded to 104 seats, all to be directly elected. In 1956, the Legislatve Assembly was dissolved and elections held to test the popular support for the call by the CPP for independence. This was won by the CPP paving the way for preparation for independence. This parliament went on to become the first parliament of the independent nation Ghana.
From independence to 1969.
Ahead of Ghana becoming a republic, the first presidential election was held on 27 April 1960. Nkrumah won 89% of the vote and was subsequently declared President for life. In the 1965 Ghanaian parliamentary election, all the CPP candidates were elected unopposed due to the one-party state system in place at the time. The National Liberation Council military government organised the 1969 Ghanaian parliamentary election which brought the Progress Party into power with a large majority. Following the military coup d'état of 1966, the National Liberation Council organised a general election on 26 August 1969. The voting was delayed in two constituencies, Chiana-Paga and Tumu and were held on 2 September 1969 and 3 September 1969. Five parties contested the election. Kofi Busia became prime minister as leader of the Progress Party which won 104 of the 140 seats in parliament.
Third Republic.
Following seven years of military rule, the 1979 election was held to return Ghana to civilian rule on 18 June 1979.The president was directly elected unlike in 1969 where the leader of the largest party in parliament became prime minister. There had to be a second round of the presidential ballot as none of the contestants had more than 50% of the vote in the first election. Akwasi Afrifa, a former military head of state and a candidate for the Mampong seat was executed by firing squad on 26 June 1979, eight days after the election. He won his seat but did not live to take his seat in parliament.
Fourth Republic.
1992 elections.
Due to another military intervention, the next presidential election was thirteen years later on 3 November 1992. Jerry Rawlings who had come to power in another military coup on 31 December 1981 won the election as the candidate of the Progressive Alliance which was formed between his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE) and National Convention Party (NCP). The turnout was 50.2%. The opposition declared that this election had been rigged and boycotted the parliamentary election on 29 December 1992 which reduced the turnout to 28.1%. The number of seats had been increased from 140 in 1979 to 200 and was won by the NDC which took 189 seats.
1996 election.
In the 1996 Ghanaian general election, Rawlings won a second term with 57.4% of the votes. His party's majority reduced to 66 as the opposition took part this time.
2000 election.
History was made after the 2000 Ghanaian general election as the country experienced the first change of government through the ballot box. John Kufuor won the first ballot with 48.17% of the vote. In the run-off elections between the first two candidates, Kufuor beat John Atta Mills with 56.9% of the votes. In the parliamentary ballot, the NPP won 99 seats.
2004 election.
In the 2004 Ghanaian general election, Kufuor won a second term as president with 52.45% of the votes. In the parliamentary contest, the NPP won 128 seats.
2008 election.
There was a second successful change of government by the ballot box after the 2008 Ghanaian general election. John Atta Mills won after a second round of voting, winning 50.23% of the votes. His party, the NDC, won 116 of the 230 seats. Unfortunately, Mills died during on 24 July 2012, less than five months before the 2012 Ghanaian general election. John Mahama, the Vice-President of Ghana was sworn in as president on the same day.
2012 election.
The number of seats had been increased to 275 from 230 amidst some controversy. A new biometric voters register was adopted to help reduce concerns about the validity of the electoral register. Some expressed concerns that the new system on its own will not address the issues raised. The elections extended from 7 December 2012 into the next day due to problems with the reliability of the Biometric voters machines being used to verify the identities of the voters. It was believed that registering and verifying the identity of 13 million voters within a 48 hours period was nevertheless exceeded the previous world record in India of 3.5 million people. Mahama went on to win 50.7% of the votes to continue as president. Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP went to the Supreme Court of Ghana to challenge the validity of the result of the election. This case raised a lot of public interest and tension. The 9 member panel of the court presided over by Justice William Atuguba ruled that the results of the 2012 presidential election should stand and that Mahama was elected legitimately. Akufo-Addo accepted the result and the feared chaos and violence after the result did not occur. The NDC won 148 seats giving them a majority of 21 in the 275 seat parliament.
2016 election.
In October 2016, the Electoral Commission disqualified 12 presidential aspirants from contesting the 2016 Ghanaian general election citing irregularities with their registration documentation. Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People's Party successfully overturned his disqualification in an Accra High Court. Mahama however lost the 2016 Ghanaian general election, winning 44.53% of the votes cast against 53.72% for Akufo-Addo. This led to the fourth change of government in the Fourth Republic. Eleven political parties contested the election. The two largest parties, the NPP the NDC won all the parliamentary seats between them. NPP won 169 seats while NDC had the remaining 106.
2020 election.
The 2020 Ghanaian general election is due to be held on 7 December 2020. In June 2018, the Electoral Commissioner, Charlotte Osei and her two deputies were sacked by President Nana Akufo-Addo. She was replaced by Jean Adukwei Mensa. The revamped Electoral Commission then announced that it will compile a new voters register and replace the biometric voting system with an entirely new one as the old one was not fit for purpose.
Election results.
The seat majority figure given is for the difference between the number of MPs elected at the general election from the party of government, as opposed to all the other parties (some of which may have been giving some support to the government, but were not necessarily participating in a coalition).