History of Malawi

The History of Malawi covers the area of present-day Malawi. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. In colonial times, the territory was ruled by the British, under whose control it was known first as British Central Africa and later Nyasaland. It became part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The country achieved full independence, as Malawi, in 1964. After independence, Malawi was ruled as a one-party state under Hastings Banda until 1994.
Prehistory.
In 1991 a hominid jawbone was discovered near Uraha village that was between 2.3 and 2.5 million years old. Early humans inhabited the vicinity of Lake Malawi 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. Human remains at a site dated about 8000 BCE showed physical characteristics similar to peoples living today in the Horn of Africa. At another site, dated 1500 BCE, the remains possess features resembling San people. They might be responsible for the rock paintings found south of Lilongwe in Chencherere and Mphunzi. According to Chewa myth, the first people in the area were a race of dwarf archers which they called Akafula or Akaombwe. Bantu-speaking people entered the region during the four first centuries of the "Common Era", bringing use of iron and slash-and-burn agriculture. Later waves of Bantu settlement, between the 13th and 15th centuries, displaced or assimilated the earlier Bantu and pre-Bantu populations.
Maravi Empire.
The name Malawi is thought to derive from the word "Maravi". The people of the Maravi Empire were iron workers. Maravi is thought to mean "Flames" and may have come from the sight of many kilns lighting up the night sky. A dynasty known as the Maravi Empire was founded by the Amaravi people in the late 15th century. The Amaravi, who eventually became known as the Chewa (a word possibly derived from a term meaning "foreigner"), migrated to Malawi from the region of the modern-day Republic of Congo to escape unrest and disease. The Chewa attacked the Akafula, whom no longer exist.
Eventually encompassing most of modern Malawi, as well as parts of modern-day Mozambique and Zambia, the Maravi Empire began on the southwestern shores of Lake Malawi. The head of the empire during its expansion was the Kalonga (also spelt Karonga). The Kalonga ruled from his headquarters in Mankhamba. Under the leadership of the Kalonga, sub-chiefs were appointed to occupy and subdue new areas. The empire began to decline during the early 18th century when fighting among the sub-chiefs and the burgeoning slave trade weakened the authority of the Maravi Empire.
Trade and invasions.
Portuguese influence.
Initially, the Maravi Empire's economy was largely dependent on agriculture, especially the production of millet and sorghum. It was during the Maravi Empire, sometime during the 16th century, that Europeans first came into contact with the people of Malawi. Under the Maravi Empire, the Chewa had access to the coast of modern-day Mozambique. Through this coastal area, the Chewa traded ivory, iron, and slaves with the Portuguese and Arabs. Trade was enhanced by the common language of Chewa (Nyanja) which was spoken throughout the Maravi Empire.
In 1616 the Portuguese trader Gaspar Bocarro journeyed through what is now Malawi, producing the first European account of the country and its people. The Portuguese were also responsible for the introduction of maize to the region. Maize would eventually replace sorghum as the staple of the Malawian diet. Malawian tribes traded slaves with the Portuguese. These slaves were sent mainly to work on Portuguese plantations in Mozambique or to Brazil.
Angoni.
The decline of the Maravi Empire resulted from the entrance of two powerful groups into the region of Malawi. In the 19th century, the Angoni or Ngoni people and their chief Zwangendaba arrived from the Natal region of modern-day South Africa. The Angoni were part of a great migration, known as the mfecane, of people fleeing from the head of the Zulu Empire, Shaka Zulu. The Ngoni people settled mostly in what is modern-day central Malawi; particularly Ntcheu and parts of Dedza district. However, some groups proceeded north; entering Tanzania and settling around Lake Victoria. But splinter groups broke off and headed back south; settling in modern-day northern Malawi, particularly Mzimba district, where they mixed with another migrant group coming from across Lake Malawi called the Bawoloka. Clearly, the mfecane had a significant impact on Southern Africa. The Angoni adopted Shaka's military tactics to subdue the lesser tribes, including the Maravi, they found along their way. Staging from rocky areas, the Ngoni impis would raid the Chewa (also called Achewa) and plunder food, oxen and women. Young men were drawn in as new fighting forces while older men were reduced to domestic slaves and/or sold off to Arab slave traders operating from the Lake Malawi region.
Yao.
The second group to take power around this time was the Yao. The Yao were also known by a derogatory term Achawa or Machawa, which is a word used by many people in southern Africa. The author of the "History of the Yao" ("Chiikala ChaWayao"), Yohanna Abdallah argued that it was the Mang'anja who coined the term Achawa in reference to the Yao because the Mang'anja and later on the Makuwa-Lomwe failed to pronounce the proper name of Yao; Edward Alpers states that the term Achawa might have originated from the Lomwe who knew the Yao as a people who ate their own food (anolya achawa). The Yao were richer and more independent than the Makuwa. They came to Malawi from northern Mozambique to escape either from famine or conflict with the Makuwa people who were jealous of the Yao. The factors which caused the Yao to migrate from Yaoland are complicated and need extensive research. One factor is that the Makuwa attacked the Yao due to jealousy. The Makuwa tribe had become enemies of the Yao because of the wealth the Yao were amassing through trading ivory and later on slaves to Arabs from Zanzibar and the Portuguese after the French had introduced sugar plantations on Réunion Island and Mauritius. It was the French who influenced the Sultan of Zanzibar to procure slaves from the hinterland. In due course the Arabs, who had known the Yao before the Portuguese, asked the Yao to go to the interior and bring slaves rather than bringing ivory. The Yao, upon migrating to Malawi in the 1800s, soon began buying slaves from the Chewa and Ngoni. The Yao are recorded to have also attacked them in order to capture prisoners whom they later sold as slaves. It was through David Livingstone the world learnt that the Yao were great slavers who were capturing the Mang'anja. However, Livingstone saw for the first time the Portuguese from Angola capturing slaves in Botswana in 1852. The people of chief Sebetwane in Botswana were being raided by the Portuguese slavers. This was the period before Livingstone came to Malawi in 1859.
In 1859 Livingstone recorded that he had discovered Lake Malawi. The Yao who were already settled by the lake told him that the mass of water he saw was called "Nyasa". Livingstone, who did not know Chiyao, possibly thought that Nyasa was the proper name of the lake. However, the term Nyasa in Chiyao meant the "lake" in English.
Within two years of the discovery of the Lake Nyasa, Livingstone had to review his plans for colonising Malawi. He used the church to start the process of colonising the land. He brought the Universities' Mission to Central Africa (U.M.C.A) under Bishop Charles Mackenzie in 1861 to Magomero. The Yao had already settled in Magomero before 1860 and the Christian missionaries encountered resistance from them. The Yao of Magomero had embraced Islam before the 1860s. Bishop Mackenzie and Livingstone took sides with the Mang'anja who were non-Muslims. Wars erupted between the Yao and Bishop Mackenzie. Livingstone and Bishop Mackenzie shot the Yao, burnt their houses and fields (see "Magomero: The Portrait of an African village"). The wars between the Yao and Livingstone at Magomero in 1861 do not appear clearly in the history textbooks of Malawi.
Work at the University of Malawi (UNIMA) for long time has been studies on how to demolish the Yao history (see The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa (ed.) Leroy Vail). The Magomero wars in 1861 were the first wars encountered in Malawi between Christian missionaries and Yao Muslims. Livingstone and the U.M.C.A were criticized for attacking the Yao. Instead of preaching the gospel the missionaries engaged in politics at Magomero by siding with the Mang'anja. The Yao were regarded as intruders, invaders, and foreigners by the missionaries. The point is that by the 1860s, a number of Yao people had already embraced Islam and it was difficult for the missionaries to convert them. They had already heard the stories of Jesus through the Quranic interpretations during Siyala preachings and they felt insulted to be regarded as uncivilized. Christian missionaries had a tendency to call Africans infidels if they did not convert to Christianity. In the minds of Christian missionaries, all Africans were uncivilized. They came to Africa to civilize the infidels. The missionaries are said to have brought the three Cs to Malawi i.e. Civilisation, Commerce and Christianity. It was the Mang'anja who had not yet embraced Islam before the arrival of the Christian missionaries. However, Islam appeared among the Mang'anja of the Shire valley in the 1500s when the Arabs were trading with the Phiri. Some Africans had already embraced Islam at that period. However, the presence of Arabs along the Zambezi-Shire dwindled after the Portuguese killed and enslaved a number of Muslims. Muslim slaves were taken to Brazil. This was the end of Islamic influence in the Zambezi-Shire valley. The Portuguese had to follow the Muslims from Tete up to Zimbabwe where they uprooted their presence (see Nyasaland Handbook by S.S. Murray, 1932).
When David Livingstone and Bishop Mackenzie came to Magomero in 1861 they found the Yao and the Mang'anja living side by side. The Yao were already civilised at that period. They were dressed in long robes and kofias (skull caps), and were trading with the Rwozi kingdom in Zimbabwe, with Bisa in the Luangwa valley, with the Lunda of Mwata Kazembe of Zambia, and even going to Congo and the east coast. Kilwa and Unguja (Zanzibar) were the Yao lodestars. The Yao travelled extensively in this part of Africa. The long trade expeditions needed people who knew some geography and arithmetic (masoma ga yisabu) in order to do their business transactions. The Yao had already acquired some skills in reading and writing using the Arabic alphabet, building dhows (yombo) along the lake shore, irrigation (matimbe), growing rice, and founding madrassahs and boarding schools (chiwuwo). The Yao were the first, and for a long while, the only group to use firearms, which they bought from Europeans and Arabs, in conflicts with other tribes. With the use of firearms the Yao in southern Malawi helped to defend the Mang'anja, who were being attacked by the Kololo. The Kololo were a people who came to Malawi from chief Sebetwane of Botswana. They were porters of Livingstone. David Livingstone left them in the Shire valley armed with guns which they used to terrorise and kill the Mang'anja in order to usurp the Mang'anja chieftainships of Chibisa and Tengani. Thanks to the Yao, the Mang'anja were not wiped out from the map of Malawi. The Yao even supplied guns to chief Mwase Kasungu of Kasungu district who was being terrorised by the Ngoni followers of chief M'mbelwa of Mzimba. Mwase's guns helped to defend the Chewa from the Ngoni and from wild animals.
In the course of history the Yao were later on depicted as a people who were enslaving the original inhabitants. In fact the Yao were resisting colonisation of Malawi in the name of spreading Christianity, Civilisation and Commerce. After failing to convert the Yao in Magomero in 1861, the Scottish decided to send another group of missionaries. The Free church of Scotland arrived in Mangochi in 1875. The Scots also sent another group of missionaries to convert the Yao Muslims in Kapeni-Blantyre in 1876. Chief Kapeni gave land to the Established Church of Scotland in Blantyre where they built what is known as H.H.I.
In 1875, Chief Mponda, a Yao Muslim, welcomed the Christians to open a mission in Cape Maclear. For six years the missionaries who settled among the Yao in Mangochi, i.e. the Free Church of Scotland, failed to convert Muslims to Christianity. Bishop Robert Laws decided to leave Mangochi and go further north to Tonga and Tumbuka territories. The Tumbuka and the Tonga were being terrorised by the Ngoni impis of chief M'mbelwa of Mzimba (a Zulu word for the body). A good number of the Tumbuka were the slaves of the Ngoni, whom they called Zowa. The Ngoni had already killed one of the Chikulamayembes (Mkwayira the chief of the Tumbuka) and Mjuma along the Runyina river. With this background, the Free Church of Scotland found fertile ground for the gospel. The Tumbuka and the Tonga were living in fear of the Ngoni. By 1881 the missionaries opened a station at Bandawe which was a center of writing and reading in Nkhata Bay. A school was a church and the church was a school. It was a buffer zone between the Ngoni and the Tonga. It acted as a center of protection from the marauding Ngoni impis. The Tongas for the first time embraced western civilization and they became the first people to be literate through English. Some of the teachers of the Tonga were the Nyanja who had embraced Christianity at Cape Maclear in Mangochi. Later on the missionaries went to the Tumbuka, who were also being enslaved by the powerful Ngonis. Robert Laws opened a mission station in Livingstonia near Rumphi in 1894. The Tumbuka sought refuge among the missionaries and embraced Christianity. They became the second tribe to be the most educated in Malawi. It can be observed that by that period the Yao had completely distanced themselves from Christian education. They were still stuck with eastern influence. They were writing and reading in Arabic. It was a blow to the Yao as Arabic education was not recognized in Malawi from 1860s up to modern times. An educated person from the 1870s up to the 1940s was the one who had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible, some arithmetic and English. It was from the 1940s when the government took steps to change the image of education in Malawi. Before 1940, education in Malawi was controlled by the Church.
While the Free Church of Scotland in 1875 went to the Yao Muslims of chief Mponda, the Established Church of Scotland in 1876 also went to the Yao Muslim chief Kapeni of Blantyre. Meanwhile, the White Fathers of the Catholic Church in 1889 sought permission to open a mission station in the territory of Chief Mponda of Mangochi. The Yao had built big towns in Mangochi, and the Mpondas and Makanjila had plenty of food which attracted foreigners. The missionaries aimed to convert the Muslims of Kapeni in Blantyre, and the Mpondas and Makanjila in Mangochi. The Yaos were one of the strongest tribes in Malawi. The second were the Ngoni who used the tactics of Shaka Zulu in their fighting.
The failure to convert the Yao Muslims to Christianity contributed to the appearing of the negative history of the Yao people. The Yao socio-economic contribution to Malawi was not recognised, rather history judged them as great slave traders. H. H. Johnson before he came to Malawi had already planned to uproot the influence of 17 Yao chiefs and 2 Ngoni chiefs. On the list were chiefs such as Jalasi, Mponda, Makanjila, Chikumbu, Mtilamanja, Matipwili of the Yao and Gomani of the Ngoni. Powerful chiefs in southern Africa were to be targeted in order to create the British empire from the Cape to Cairo. This was the dream of Cecil Rhodes. It started in South Africa where Cecil Rhodes's influence through the British crushed the Zulu kingdom, the Pedi, Ndebele of Zimbabwe and the Lozi of Zambia. With funding from Cecil Rhodes, from 1891 Johnson fought with the Yao for five years before they were subdued. Makanjila, Mponda Jalasi were the strongest Yao chiefs who fought the British under H.H. Johnson's command.
The history of the Yao conversion to Islam can be traced through their long expeditions to the east coast especially to Kilwa and Zanzibar. The Yao had begun to be attracted and converted to Islam before the 1840s. Salim bin Abdallah, who is better known as the Jumbe of Nkhotakota, followed in the Yao footsteps in 1840. It was from the Yao and the Nyamwezi he got accurate information about the geography of Malawi. In Nkhotakota Jumbe employed a number of Yao and Bisa. The Bisa had known the Yao through the ivory trade which they had both practised along the Luangwa valley where elephants were abundant. It must be understood that Islam in Malawi can be divided into phases [see the History of Islam in Malawi Before and after Christianity by Valiant Mussa, Blantyre: Fattan, 2005]. The Yao ruling class, particularly chief Makanjila, officially is said to have recommended Islam in 1870 like their Arab trading partners rather than the traditional belief in Mnungu. The Yao were not animist before Islam. They knew that there is one God known as Amanani, Achipinga, or Wakalakatele. They did not worship idols; rather their spiritual place was under an Msolo tree where they asked the assistance of God through amasoka (ancestral spirits). They believed that it was impossible to approach God directly but through Amasoka. As a benefit of their conversion, the Yao employed Swahili and Arab sheikhs from the coast who promoted literacy and founded mosques. Chief Mponda in Mangochi had almost twelve madrassas before the Christian missionaries arrived in 1875. At those madrassas Yao children were taught how to read and write before the Christian missionaries arrived in 1875. The Yao were the first people in Malawi to be literate. They learnt how to read and write through the Arabic alphabet. Their writings were in the Kiswahili language, which became a lingua franca of Malawi from 1870 to the 1960s. In contemporary history the Yao are known as illiterate people because they did not embrace western education which had a condition of one converting to Christianity before going to school. The school was the church and church was a school. In this way the Yao distanced themselves from the school. The most educated people in Malawi were found in Nkhata Bay and Rumphi. These were the two places where the Tonga in 1881 and the Tumbuka in 1894 embraced Christianity out of fear of the powerful Ngoni impis who were terrorizing them (see The Creation of Tribalism in southern Africa (ed.) Leroy Vail). The first people to attend school were the Tumbuka slave children. The Ngoni with their children were suspicious of the penetration of the missionaries in their domain. Today we find few Yaos in government departments, which has forced a large number of them to migrate to South Africa as a source of labour. In Malawi the Yao are farmers, tailors, hawkers, guards, fishermen and working in unskilled manual jobs. From the 1980s the Yao have been sending their children to foreign universities because it has been difficult for them to study at the University of Malawi since 1965. At the present time government departments have employed graduates from University of Zanzibar, the Islamic university of Uganda and International University of Sudan. The Yao believe that they have been deliberately marginalized by the authorities because of their faith. A number of Yao Muslims at one time concealed their Yao or Islamic names in order to pass to secondary school. Mariam was known as Mary; Yusufu was called Joseph; Che Sigele became Jeanet.
Arabs and their Swahili allies.
Using their strong partnership with the Yao, the Arab traders set up several trading posts along the shore of Lake Malawi. The Yao expeditions to the east attracted the attention of the Swahili-Arabs. It was from the Yao, the Swahili and Arabs knew the existence and the geography of Lake Malawi. Jumbe (Salim Abdallah) followed the Yao trade route from the eastern side of Lake Malawi up to Nkhotakota. When Jumbe arrived in Nkhotakota in 1840 he found a number of Yao and Bisa well established. Some of those Yao he found in Nkhotakota were already Islamised and he opted to employ them rather than employing non-Muslim Chewa. During the height of his power, Jumbe transported between 5,000 and 20,000 slaves through Nkhotakota annually. From Nkhotakota, the slaves were transported in caravans of no less than 500 slaves to the small island of Kilwa Kisiwani off the coast of modern-day Tanzania. The founding of these various posts effectively shifted the slave trade in Malawi from the Portuguese in Mozambique to the Arabs of Zanzibar.
Although the Yao and the Angoni continually clashed with each other, neither was able to win a decisive victory. However, the Ngoni of Dedza opted to work to work the Yao of Mpondas. The remaining members of the Maravi Empire, however, were nearly wiped out in attacks from both sides. Some Achewa chiefs saved themselves by creating alliances with the Swahili people who were allied with the Arab slave traders.
Lomwe of Malawi.
The Lomwe of Malawi are a recent introduction having arrived as late as the 1890s. The Lomwe came from a hill in Mozambique called uLomwe, north of the Zambezi River and south east of Lake Chilwa in Malawi. Theirs was also a story of hunger largely instigated by the Portuguese settlers moving into the neighbourhoods of uLomwe. To escape from ill-treatment, the Lomwe headed north and entered Nyasaland by way of the southern tip of lake Chilwa, settling in the Phalombe and Mulanje areas.
In Mulanje they found the Yao and Mang'anja already settled. The Yao chiefs such as Chikumbu, Mtilamanja, Matipwili, Juma, Chiuta welcomed the Lomwe as their cousins from Mozambique. A large number of Lomwe were given land by the Yao and Mang'anja. Later on the Lomwe got employment on tea estates that various British companies were establishing on the foothills of Mount Mulanje. They gradually spread into Thyolo and Chiradzulu. The Lomwe readily mixed with the local Mang'anja tribes, and there are no reported cases of tribal conflict.
Early European contact.
The location of Malawi was known to the Arabs and Swahili of the east coast through the Yao. Later on it was the Portuguese who learnt of the existence of Lake Malawi. After the Portuguese arrival in the area in the 16th century, the next significant Western contact was the arrival of David Livingstone along the shore of Lake Malawi in 1859. Livingstone is said to have heard about the existence of Lake Malawi from a Portuguese in Tete. In 1859 it is recorded that he discovered the mass of water which was called by Yao people as Nyasa in Chiyao. Livingstone was surprised seeing the presence of Islam among the Yao of chief Mponda who had more than twelve madrassas running Islamic lessons, writing and reading Arabic. With this background, Livingstone painted a gloomy picture of the Mang'anja being captured, killed and enslaved by the marauding Yao from Mozambique. In 1861 under Bishop Charles Mackenzie missionaries of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa (U.M.C.A) were sent to open a mission in Magomero where the Yao were already Muslims. The bishop and Livingstone took the side of the Mang'anja in the politics of that area. Wars between the Yao and Bishop Mackenzie were fought. Crops and villages of the Yao were burnt by Livingstone and Bishop Mackenzie. (See Magomero A portrait of an Africa village by Landeg White). The mission was abandoned after the death of Bishop Mackenzie. The U.M.C.A shifted its sphere to Morumbala in Mozambique.
After the failure of the U.M.C.A in Magomero, Scottish Presbyterian churches established missions in Malawi, such as the St Michael and All Angels Church in Blantyre founded in 1876. The target once again were the Yao Muslims who had embraced Islam earlier than the 1870s. By the time the Established Church of Scotland came to Malawi, they found chief Kapeni a Yao Muslim ruling what is known as Blantyre today. It was Kapeni who gave the missionaries land to establish the said St Michael and All Angels Church. Many of Amangochi Yao of Kapeni succumbed to the pressure of the Christian influence and they became Christians such as chief Machinjiri, Kumtumanjia and others. One of the alleged objectives of the missionaries was to end the slave trade in Malawi that continued until the end of the 19th century. However, the hidden intention of Livingstone was to colonise Central Africa (see The Missionaries by Moorhouse). This was achieved through the influence of the church and later on the defeat of powerful Yao and Ngoni chiefs in the 1890s. In 1878, a number of traders, mostly from Glasgow, formed the African Lakes Company to supply goods and services to the missionaries. Other missionaries, traders, hunters, and planters soon followed.
Before the Established church of Scotland established a mission among the Yao of Kapeni 1876, another Scottish group of the Free Church of Scotland had secured land from the Machinga Yao chief Mponda in Mangochi. In 1875 chief Mponda gave land to Robert Laws. As a result, Laws opened a mission among the Islamised Yao in Mangochi. The mission station survived in the first years because food was plentiful in the Mponda and Makanjila areas. The chiefs of the said areas practiced commercial farming. However, the missionaries for six years failed to convert the Machinga Yao. However, Mangochi Yao of upper Shire such those found in Zomba and Blantyre embraced Christianity.
In 1889 the Catholic White Fathers also aimed to convert the Yao of Mponda in Mangochi. Chief Mponda gave them land to open a mission station. The influence of the Catholics has been strong since 1889. The Church had been trying its best to Christianise the Yao by building schools and a clinic every four kilometres in Mangochi. At present the Church has Radio Maria, a major seminary and the university in the district.
British rule.
In 1883, a consul of the British Government was accredited to the "Kings and Chiefs of Central Africa" and in 1891, the British established the British Central Africa Protectorate.
In 1907 the name was changed to "Nyasaland" or the "Nyasaland Protectorate" (Nyasa is the Chiyao word for "lake"). In the 1950s, Nyasaland was joined with Northern and Southern Rhodesia in 1953 to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The Federation was dissolved on 31 December 1963.
In January 1915, John Chilembwe, a Millenarian pastor in south-eastern Nyasaland, led an unsuccessful revolt, known as the Chilembwe uprising, against British rule. Chilembwe opposed the recruitment of Nyasas in the British army's campaign in East Africa, as well as the system of colonial rule. Chilembwe's followers attacked local plantations, but were soon defeated by British forces. Chilembwe was killed, and many of his followers were executed.
In 1944, the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC), inspired by the African National Congress' Peace Charter of 1914, emerged. NAC soon spread across Southern African with powerful branches emerging among migrant Malawian workers in Salisbury (now Harare) in Southern Rhodesia and Lusaka, in Northern Rhodesia.
Thousands of Nyasalanders fought in the Second World War.
In July 1958, Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda returned to the country after a long absence in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ghana. He assumed leadership of the NAC, which later became the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). In 1959, Banda was sent to Gwelo Prison for his political activities but was released in 1960 to participate in a constitutional conference in London.
In August 1961, the MCP won an overwhelming victory in an election for a new Legislative Council. It also gained an important role in the new Executive Council and ruled Nyasaland in all but name a year later. In a second constitutional conference in London in November 1962, the British Government agreed to give Nyasaland self-governing status the following year.
Hastings Banda became Prime Minister on 1 February 1963, although the British still controlled the country's financial, security, and judicial systems.
A new constitution took effect in May 1963, providing for virtually complete internal self-government.
Independence.
Malawi became a fully independent member of the Commonwealth (formerly the British Commonwealth) on 6 July 1964.
Shortly after, in August and September 1964, Banda faced dissent from most of his cabinet ministers in the Cabinet Crisis of 1964. The Cabinet Crisis began with a confrontation between Banda, the Prime Minister, and all the cabinet ministers present on 26 August 1964. Their grievances were not dealt with, but three cabinet ministers were dismissed on 7 September. These dismissals were followed, on the same day and on 9 September, by the resignations of three more cabinet ministers in sympathy with those dismissed, although one of those who had resigned rescinded his resignation within a few hours. The reasons that the ex-ministers put forward for the confrontation and their subsequent resignations were the autocratic attitude of Banda, who failed to consult other ministers and kept power in his own hands, his insistence on maintaining diplomatic relations with South Africa and Portugal and a number of domestic austerity measures. After continuing unrest and some clashes between their supporters and those of Banda, most of the ex-ministers left Malawi in October. One ex-minister, Henry Chipembere led a small, unsuccessful armed uprising in February 1965. After its failure, he arranged for his transfer to the USA. Another ex-minister, Yatuta Chisiza, organised an even smaller incursion from Mozambique in 1967, in which he was killed. Several of the former ministers died in exile or, in the case of Orton Chirwa in a Malawian jail, but some survived to return to Malawi after Banda was deposed in 1993, and resumed public life.
Two years later, Malawi adopted a republican constitution and became a one-party state with Hastings Banda as its first president.
One-party rule.
In 1970, Hastings Banda was declared President for life of the MCP, and in 1971 Banda consolidated his power and was named President for life of Malawi itself. The paramilitary wing of the Malawi Congress Party, the Young Pioneers, helped keep Malawi under totalitarian control until the 1990s.
Banda, who was always referred to as "His Excellency the Life President Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda", was a dictator. Allegiance to him was enforced at every level. Every business building was required to have an official picture of Banda hanging on the wall. No other poster, clock, or picture could be placed higher on the wall than the president's picture. The national anthem was played before most events – including movies, plays, and school assemblies. At the cinemas, a video of His Excellency waving to his subjects was shown while the anthem played. When Banda visited a city, a contingent of women was expected to greet him at the airport and dance for him. A special cloth, bearing the President's picture, was the required attire for these performances. The one radio station in the country aired the President's speeches and government propaganda. People were ordered from their homes by police, and told to lock all windows and doors, at least an hour prior to President Banda passing by. Everyone was expected to wave.
Among the laws enforced by Banda, it was illegal for women to wear see-through clothes, pants of any kind or skirts which showed any part of the knee. There were two exceptions to this: if they were at a Country Club (a place where various sports were played) and if they were at a holiday resort/hotel, which meant that with the exception of the resort/hotel staff they were not seen by the general populace. Men were not allowed to have hair below the collar; when men whose hair was too long arrived in the country from overseas, they were given a haircut before they could leave the airport. Churches had to be government sanctioned. Members of certain religious groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, were persecuted and forced to leave the country at one time. All Malawian citizens of Indian heritage were forced to leave their homes and businesses and move into designated Indian areas in the larger cities. At one time, they were all told to leave the country, then hand-picked ones were allowed to return. It was illegal to transfer or take privately earned funds out of the country unless approved through proper channels; proof had to be supplied to show that one had already brought in the equivalent or more in foreign currency in the past. When some left, they gave up goods and earnings.
All movies shown in theatres were first viewed by the Malawi Censorship Board. Content considered unsuitable – particularly nudity or political content – was edited. Mail was also monitored by the Censorship Board. Some overseas mail was opened, read, and sometimes edited. Videotapes had to be sent to the Censorship Board to be viewed by censors. Once edited, the movie was given a sticker stating that it was now suitable for viewing, and sent back to the owner. Telephone calls were monitored and disconnected if the conversation was politically critical. Items to be sold in bookstores were also edited. Pages, or parts of pages, were cut out or blacked out of magazines such as "Newsweek" and "Time".
While Malawi was a middle income country in the world during much of Banda's tenure, he managed to keep peace in the country for most of the time he was in power. He was a wealthy man, like most if not all world leaders. He owned houses (and lived in a palace), businesses, private helicopters, cars and other such luxuries. Speaking out against the President was strictly prohibited. Those who did so were often deported or imprisoned. Banda and his government were criticised for human rights violations by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. After he was deposed, Banda was put on trial for murder and attempts to destroy evidence.
During his rule, Banda was one of the very few post-colonial African leaders to maintain diplomatic relations with Apartheid-era South Africa.
Multi-party democracy.
Increasing domestic unrest and pressure from Malawian churches and from the international community led to a referendum in which the Malawian people were asked to vote for either a multi-party democracy or the continuation of a one-party state. On 14 June 1993, the people of Malawi voted overwhelmingly in favour of multi-party democracy. Free and fair national elections were held on 17 May 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year.
Bakili Muluzi, leader of the United Democratic Front (UDF), was elected President in those elections. The UDF won 82 of the 177 seats in the National Assembly and formed a coalition government with the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD). That coalition disbanded in June 1996, but some of its members remained in the government. The President was referred to as Dr Muluzi, having received an honorary degree at Lincoln University in Missouri in 1995. Malawi's newly written constitution (1995) eliminated special powers previously reserved for the Malawi Congress Party. Accelerated economic liberalisation and structural reform accompanied the political transition.
On 15 June 1999, Malawi held its second democratic elections. Bakili Muluzi was re-elected to serve a second five-year term as President, despite an MCP-AFORD Alliance that ran a joint slate against the UDF.
The aftermath of elections brought the country to the brink of civil strife. Disgruntled Tumbuka, Ngoni and Nkhonde Christian tribes dominant in the north were irritated by the election of Bakili Muluzi, a Muslim from the south. Conflict arose between Christians and Muslims of the Yao tribe (Muluzi's tribe). Property valued at over millions of dollars was either vandalised or stolen and 200 mosques were torched down.
Malawi in the 21st century.
In 2001, the UDF held 96 seats in the National Assembly, while the AFORD held 30, and the MCP 61. Six seats were held by independents who represent the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) opposition group. The NDA was not recognised as an official political party at that time. The National Assembly had 193 members, of whom 17 were women, including one of the Deputy Speakers.
Malawi saw its very first transition between democratically elected presidents in May 2004, when the UDF's presidential candidate Bingu wa Mutharika defeated MCP candidate John Tembo and Gwanda Chakuamba, who was backed by a grouping of opposition parties. The UDF, however, did not win a majority of seats in Parliament, as it had done in 1994 and 1999 elections. It successfully secured a majority by forming a "government of national unity" with several opposition parties. Bingu wa Mutharika left the UDF party on 5 February 2005 citing differences with the UDF, particularly over his anti-corruption campaign. He won a second term outright in the 2009 election as the head of a newly founded party, the Democratic Progressive Party. In April 2012, Mutharika died of a heart attack; the presidential title was taken over by Vice-President Joyce Banda (not related to the former president Banda). In 2014 Malawian general election Joyce Banda lost (coming third) and was replaced by Peter Mutharika, the brother of ex-President Mutharika. In 2019 Malawian general election president Peter Mutharika got narrow election victory and he was re-elected. In February 2020 Malawi Constitutional Court overturned the result because of irregularities and widespread fraud. In May 2020 Malawi Supreme Court upheld the decision and announced a new election will be held on July 2. This was the first time election was legally challenged. Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera won 2020 Malawian presidential election and he was sworn in as the new president of Malawi.


Hitsats massacre

The Hitsats massacre was a massacre at Hitsats refugee camp on or around 19 November 2020 during the Tigray War. The civilians killed were 300 Eritrean refugees, according to Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA), and five humanitarian workers, according to "The New York Times", Associated Press, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Massacre.
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) soldiers arrived in Hitsats refugee camp on 19 November 2020. According to "The New York Times" (NYT), 40 people were killed in the initial battle between the EDF and local Tigrayan militias, including four civilians.
Civilian deaths.
Eritrean refugees.
According to a 10 January 2021 Europe External Programme with Africa (EEPA) report, Ethiopian TV stated that 300 Hitsats refugees had been extrajudicially executed by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). An anonymous source quoted by EEPA disagreed, attributing the executions to the EDF, stating, "Eritrean forces massively killed their own citizens in Hitsats refugee camp to punish them for escaping their shoot to kill policy.
Refugees interviewed by Agence France Presse (AFP) stated that pro-TPLF forces used Hitsats as a base for several weeks in November 2020, killing several refugees who wanted to leave the camp to get food, and in one incident, killed nine young Eritrean men in revenge for having lost a battle against the EDF.
Witnesses say that Eritrean soldiers swept through Hitsats camp, and killed, beat, raped and kidnapped refugees. Many people were taken, and those that tried to escape were shot.
Humanitarian workers.
The four civilians killed in the initial battle, according to the "NYT" and Associated Press, were one Ethiopian employee of the International Rescue Committee and three Ethiopian civilian guards employed by the Danish Refugee Council.
A fifth refugee worker, a 52-year old employed by the Dutch non-governmental organisation , was reported in late December 2020 to have been killed at Hitsats refugee camp.
In early January 2021, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) called for "the unrestricted and safe passage of humanitarian personnel and supplies to all parts of Tigray Region".
Property destruction.
Satellite images confirmed the presence of burned fields and forests. Analyses of satellite images by Planet Labs Inc and DX Open Network showed that on 5 January 2021, there were "at least 14 actively burning structures and 55 others [had been] damaged or destroyed", and that on 8 January there were new fires.


Albert Henry Hime

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Albert Henry Hime, (29 August 1842 – 13 September 1919) was a Royal Engineers officer and later a prominent politician in the Colony of Natal.
Early life and career.
Hime was born in Kilcoole, County Wicklow, on the Ballydonsrea Loop, and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. In May 1866 he married Josephine Searle in Plymouth, and three months later moved to Bermuda to work on a causeway there. Lieutenant Hime began drafting up his plan for the Causeway in 1867, and it would take four years before the project was finished. When it was finished, Hime delivered a report to Governor Lefroy in front of some 6,000 residents (approximately half of the population), describing his accomplishment as "solid and substantial...without any attempt at ornament" which would have increased the project's cost (the cost of construction, £27,000, was £2,000 more than the colonial government raised in total revenues that year). Lefroy responded that Hime's name would become part of Bermuda's history, and that the young lieutenant would have a promising career. Hime was awarded a service of plate from the colonial government.
In 1878, Hime designed and built the Natal Mounted Police Headquarters on Alexandra Road. His son Charles represented Natal at cricket and played Test cricket for South Africa in 1896.
Premier of Natal.
On 9 June 1899, Hime was appointed as the Premier of Natal, a position which he held until 17 August 1903. The premiership included the years of the Second Boer War in the South African colonies between October 1899 and the Peace of Vereeniging in June 1902. Commenting on the peace settlement, Hime in September 1902 stated that "there was naturally a little soreness against rebels who at the commencement of the war fought for the Boers; but he recognized the fact that both races had to live together ... he believed the Boers would settle down and become as peaceable and loyal as other subjects of the British Crown.″
As Premier, he attended the Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and the conference of Colonial Premiers in London in 1902.
During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1902, he received the honorary degree LL.D. from the University of Cambridge in May, from the University of Edinburgh in July, and from the University of Dublin later the same year. He was also awarded the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh during a visit to the city on 26 July 1902, and appointed a Privy Counsellor on 11 August 1902, following an announcement of the King's intention to make this appointment in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published in June that year.
Legacy.
The hamlet of Himeville, in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands is named after him as part of his legacy as Premier of Natal.


Gikomba bombings

On May 16, 2014, two improvised explosive devices were detonated simultaneously in the Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 12 people and injuring 70. The first blast came from a minibus and the second from within the market. Two people were reportedly arrested at the site of the explosions. Shortly after the attacks, hundreds of people swarmed onto the crime scene despite police efforts to stop them.
Background.
Shortly before the blasts, 400 British holidaymakers had been evacuated from Mombasa, the country's second largest city, due to the British Foreign Office declaring an "unacceptably high" threat level. The day before the blasts, the United States had also issued a similar warning, which stated: "The U.S. government continues to receive information about potential terrorist threats aimed at U.S., Western, and Kenyan interests in Kenya, including the Nairobi area and the coastal cities of Mombasa and Diani." It had also said that their embassy in Kenya was going to increase its security in the week preceding the bombings. Uhuru Kenyatta, the president of Kenya, dismissed these warnings, saying they "strengthen the will of terrorists" and that terrorism is a problem in many other countries as well. In the week prior to the blasts, Kenya's government required all bus passengers to be screened before boarding buses and required all buses have clear glass windows.
Reactions.
Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya, reacted to the explosions by saying that "All of us around the world must be united to ensure that we are able to fight this particular terror." Kenya's government, convinced that the perpetrators were Somalian terrorists, reacted to the attacks by rounding up thousands of immigrants, refugees and members of Kenya’s large Somali community.
Flight cancellations.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised against all but essential travel to Mombasa Island off Kenya's coast. Thomson Airways and First Choice Airways cancelled all their flights to Mombasa until the end of October, citing the FCO's advice.
Economic impact.
After the Gikomba explosions, which were the latest in a long line of attacks occurring in Kenya in recent months, the value of the Kenyan shilling decreased by 0.2% that day.
United States Embassy.
The United States Department of State announced on the day of the bombings that it was planning on reducing the number of staff it would employ at its embassies in Kenya.
Perpetrator.
While no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, Kenyatta stated that terrorists were responsible. Suspicions have, in particular, fallen on Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab, since they were responsible for several previous terrorist attacks in Kenya due to Kenya sending troops to Somalia in 2011. The Gikomba attack occurred two miles from Al-Shabaab's so-called "Little Mogadishu" stronghold in Nairobi.


History of Benin

Colonial Benin (formerly, République du Dahomey/Republic of Dahomey).
Dahomey was a French colony of and a part of French West Africa from 1904 to 1959. Under the French, a port was constructed at Cotonou, and railroads were built. School facilities were expanded by Roman Catholic missions. In 1946, Dahomey became an overseas territory with its own parliament and representation in the French national assembly. On December 4, 1958, it became the Republic of Dahomey.
Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought to power Major Mathieu Kérékou as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. By 1975 the Republic of Dahomey changed its name to the People's Republic of Benin.The People's Revolutionary Party of Benin remained in complete power until the beginning of the 1990s. Kérékou, encouraged by France and other democratic powers, convened a national conference that introduced a new democratic constitution and held presidential and legislative elections. Kérékou's principal opponent at the presidential poll, and the ultimate victor, was Prime Minister Nicéphore Soglo. Supporters of Soglo also secured a majority in the National Assembly Benin was thus the first African country to effect successfully the transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system
Post-colonial Benin.
Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought to power Major Mathieu Kérékou as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. By 1975 the Republic of Dahomey changed its name to the People's Republic of Benin. The People's Revolutionary Party of Benin (PRPB) remained in complete power until the beginning of the 1990s. Kérékou, encouraged by France and other democratic powers, convened a national conference that introduced a new democratic constitution and held presidential and legislative elections. Kérékou's principal opponent at the presidential poll, and the ultimate victor, was Prime Minister Nicéphore Soglo. Supporters of Soglo also secured a majority in the National Assembly. Benin was thus the first African country to effect successfully the transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system.
In the second round of National Assembly elections held in March 1995, Zoglo's political vehicle, the Parti de la Renaissance du Benin, was the largest single party but lacked an overall majority. The success of a party formed by supporters of ex-president Kérékou, who had officially retired from active politics, allowed him to stand successfully at both the 1996 and 2001 presidential elections.
During the 2001 elections, however, alleged irregularities and dubious practices led to a boycott of the run-off poll by the main opposition candidates. The four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were Mathieu Kérékou (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore Soglo (former president) 27.1%, Adrien Houngbédji (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno Amoussou (Minister of State) 8.6%. The second round balloting, originally scheduled for March 18, 2001, was postponed for days because both Soglo and Houngbedji withdrew, alleging electoral fraud. This left Kérékou to run against his own Minister of State, Amoussou, in what was termed a "friendly match."
In December 2002, Benin held its first municipal elections since before the institution of Marxism-Leninism. The process was smooth with the significant exception of the 12th district council for Cotonou, the contest that would ultimately determine who would be selected for the mayoralty of the capital city. That vote was marred by irregularities, and the electoral commission was forced to repeat that single election. Nicephore Soglo's Renaissance du Benin (RB) party won the new vote, paving the way for the former president to be elected Mayor of Cotonou by the new city council in February 2002.
National Assembly elections took place in March 2003 and were generally considered to be free and fair. Although there were some irregularities, these were not significant and did not greatly disrupt the proceedings or the results. These elections resulted in a loss of seats by RB—the primary opposition party. The other opposition parties, the Party for Democratic Renewal (PRD) led by the former Prime Minister Adrien Houngbedji and the Alliance Etoile (AE), joined the government coalition.
Former West African Development Bank Director Yayi Boni won the March 2006 election for the presidency in a field of 26 candidates. International observers including the United Nations, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and others called the election free, fair, and transparent. President Kérékou was barred from running under the 1990 constitution due to term and age limitations. President Yayi was inaugurated on April 6, 2006.
Benin held legislative elections on March 31, 2007, for the 83 seats in the National Assembly. The Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin (FCBE), a coalition of parties, closely linked to President Yayi, won a plurality of the seats in the National Assembly, providing the president with considerable influence over the legislative agenda.
In March 2011, President Boni Yayi was re-elected with 53.13 percent of vote in the first-round of the election. His main rival rejected the results, claiming widespread irregularities.
After President Boni Yayi had served maximum two five-year terms, businessman Patrice Talon succeeded him. Talon defeated prime minister Lionel Zinsou, the candidate for Boni Yayi's Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin (FCBE), in the March 2016 presidential election.
In April 2021, incumbent Patrice Talon won re-election with 86 percent of the votes in the first round of the election. The change in election laws resulted in total control of parliament by president Talon’s supporters.


Italian Somaliland rupia

The Somali rupia (plural: "rupie", Somali: روپيا) was the currency in Italian Somaliland from 1909 to 1925. It was subdivided into 100 "bese" (singular: "besa", Somali: بيزا).
History.
The Somali rupia was introduced between 1909 and 1910. First, bronze coins denominated in besa were introduced, followed by silver coins denominated in rupia in 1910. The rupia replaced several currencies, including the Maria Theresa thaler and the Indian rupee, to which it was equal. The rupia was replaced by the Italian Somaliland lira during a transition period between July 1, 1925, and June 30, 1926, at a rate of 8 lire = 1 rupia.
Since the rupia's replacement, several currencies have circulated in what was Italian Somaliland, including the Italian East African lira, the East African shilling, the Italian Somaliland somalo and the Somali shilling.
Coins.
In 1909, bronze coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2 and 4 bese. These were followed, in 1910, by silver ¼, ½ and 1 rupia. The silver coins were struck to the same specifications as those of the Indian rupee. Silver coins were struck until 1921, with bronze continuing until 1924.
Banknotes.
The first currency specific to Italian Somaliland was issued between 1893 and 1896 by V. Filonardi & Company, a private trading company run by Vincenzo Filonardi, Italy’s former consul at Zanzibar. Filonardi’s 5-rupia notes were promissory notes not intended to replace the currencies then circulating in Italian Somaliland, including the Indian rupee and the Maria Theresa thaler. Official banknotes were introduced in 1920 by the Banca d'Italia. These were cash certificates ("buoni di cassa") in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 rupie. 10 and 20 rupie were printed but not issued.


Elijah Akpan Okon

Elijaj Akpan Okon (born 1913), into a royal family with a line of great leaders and chiefs in Ikot Mbon Ikono, Uyo, in the present Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria; his father chief Nsentip Ekown, a prominent, and great Ruler of Ikono and the suburbs, named him Ukpong Nsentip Ekown. At his school age, there were no schools in the whole of Uyo division, and it was difficult to establish any, because of strong opposition by Ibibio people, in and around Uyo. Prior to his birth, his father Chief Nsentip Ekown had signed a treaty with the British Consul – Sir Robert Brooks which established Uyo as a British Colonial Administrative station. Chief Nsentip Ekown was a Paramount Ruler amongst his people. He was thus confirmed, honoured, with this title, and crowned as the first Warrant Paramount Ruler of the area through the Consul by King Edward VII in 1902. Chief Nsentip Ekown, in conjunction with Chief Udo-Ekong Umana Ekam of Abak, led the British to establish the Government School at Abak. As a Warrant Ruler, Chief Nsentip Ekown played a prominent role by assisting the British to subdue Essien Inyang Ide of Abak whose parcel of land the school was established. It would be quite unsafe for anybody linked with the name Nsentip to attend the school; hence Ukpong Nsentip Ekown had to adopt the name Elijah Akpan Okon to acquire education at the Abak Government School. This was also an era, which the early missionaries and the colonial teachers in Nigeria preferred to, and renamed the Nigerian students with biblical and European names other than African.
In 1940, Chief Elijah Akpan Okon studied Rural Science Education, and community development at Umuahia. He also had a Graduation Certificate in Agriculture and Home Economics in 1947, through the Pennsylvania State College, USA. In 1952 he obtained a Diploma in Business Management and company Secretarial studies from a school in London.
After completing his Primary school education in 1929, he took a job as a teacher in a local school, primarily to have the opportunity of encouraging the people to send their children to school. From 1937–1950, he was a teacher, and Head Master at Ukana Methodist School in Ikot Ekpene. Between 1942 and 1949 Chief Elijah Akpan Okon was the secretary, Nigerian Union of Teachers (N.U.T.) Ikot Ekpene Branch.
His passion as a community leader and organizer showed up early in his life. Around 1933–1939, Chief Elijah Akpan Okon founded Ikono Young-men Meeting whose aim was to raise funds and sponsor the youths of that era to have secondary education from the few colleges such as Government College, Umuahia; Etinan Institute, Methodist Boys' High School, Oron and Uzuakoli etc. Several youths of Ikono availed themselves of that opportunity.
In 1950, he returned from Ukana, Ikot Ekpene to his village Ikot Mbon Ikono, Uyo. He was appointed a rural science teacher in the Uyo Federated schools (1951–1955). He left that post, and brought up his village school Ikono Central School (now the AME Zion Mission School ) where he was a teacher and the Head Master from (1956–1960).
Within 1949, he had attempted, in vain, to form the Ikono Federation but in the process Northern Ikono Federation emerged in 1950. During his tenure as the founder and first President of the Northern Ikono Federation, a community Centre was built which housed a meeting hall, a library, a postal agency, etc. Arrangements were made for the local people to learn weaving, and pottery at the center. At its entirety, the aim of the federation was to raise funds and give scholarships for the local youths to attain higher education. Sir Clement Pleass, K.C.M.G; K.B.E. the British Governor of Eastern Nigeria was invited and he did the inaugural opening of the center on June 29, 1955 . Chief Elijah Akpan Okon was given a Certificate of Faithful Service to the people of Uyo, by the Governor.
Chief Elijah Akpan Okon used his political influence and affiliations to establish; and promoted the Primary Education (U P E) programme in Uyo, and the whole of Calabar Province. He set up oil palm seedling nurseries in schools and some communities. He encouraged the local farmers to participate in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) cultivation which was a major foreign exchange earner for Nigeria. He ensured that certain farm equipment and fertilizer were distributed free to the local farmers. These exercises were in part, programmes of the NCNC led government of Eastern Nigeria which he intended the local farmers to benefit.
From 1959–1961, he became the Chairman of Uyo Federated County Council. He came up with the first master plan for Uyo. It was at this time that the old stadium, the Uyo Motor Park, the streets were established, and named. Pipe borne water and electricity were introduced. He made sure that dispensaries/clinics and maternities were built and operated in the rural areas of Uyo Division. Postal agencies were available for people in the local areas. Within this time he excised the Uyo Council into two distinct and separate administrative entities, Uyo Urban; and Uyo Federated County Councils with headquarters at Uyo and Ikot Ebio, Offot respectively. The aim in this was to allow development to expand into the rural areas. He awarded scholarships to qualified and deserving students to colleges and universities. His efforts in all these had yielded a multiplier effect in terms of human power and resource development to the community. Uyo Division now has numerous indigenous and enviable personnel in almost every field of human endeavours.
Chief Elijah Akpan Okon was a Nationalist. His Political Party, National Council of Nigerian Citizens(NCNC), produced Chief (Dr.) Nnamdi Azikiwe as the first indigenous President of Nigeria, who took over the realms of political powers peacefully, from the British Colonial rule, and ushered in a parliamentary democratic system of government. From thence, Nigeria became an independent and a sovereign nation on October 1, 1960. Chief Elijah Akpan Okon held a strong belief and advocated that Ibibio people should participate, and play the politics of the government at the centre and to stay within that centre and struggle for their rights, and amenities. This was his main differential point between his political opponents, who stayed or crossed the carpet, from the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) to the Action Group (AG) and derived no benefits from that opposing party.
Chief Elijah Akpan Okon was a devout Christian and a Director of Christian education in AME Zion church Nigeria Conference. He was instrumental in establishing the AME Zion mission co-educational Teachers Training College at Ndon Ebom near Uyo. In 1964 he hosted the AME Zion conference at Ikot Mbon Ikono, Uyo. The Presiding Bishop at this conference was Bishop Alfred G. Dunston an African American prelate in charge of the West African Episcopal District of AME Zion mission. In that conference Chief Elijah Akpan Okon along with others succeeded for the church to sponsor four Nigerians to study in the United States of America. This was a prelude to have Nigerian indigenes in the administration of the church. As a result of that initiative, and amongst the four emerged on August 5, 1988 Dr. Samuel Chuka Ekemam, SR, who was consecrated, a BISHOP, and now presides over the affairs of the AME Zion Church in Nigeria Episcopal District and remains the most senior Prelate in AME Zion Church Connection worldwide.
The crisis in Nigeria reached its climax in 1966. Party politics and the Nigerian Constitution were suspended by the Military take over of the country. Since he was the chairman of his party (NCNC) for Uyo, he handed all the political papers, other documents, etc. to the Divisional Police officer in Uyo in 1966. He thus lost interest in active politics. He decided to pay more attention to his new role as the General Manager of the AME Zion schools in Nigeria, a post he held from 1962–1968.
In 1966 and 1967, the Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Lt.Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu appointed him a member of the Eastern Nigeria Consultative Assembly at Enugu as well as a member of the Provincial Executive Committee of Uyo and later on elected as the Sole Administrator for Uyo. He had no choice but to accept, these positions, much against his will. These were the official posts he held, until his mishap.
During the Nigerian Civil War, Chief Elijah Akpan Okon conducted several town hall meetings in a relentless effort to educate the populace on the best ways to comport themselves by words and by deeds to ward off any confrontation by the Biafran soldiers who were under orders to arrest or kill any saboteur. A lot of people had for safety abandoned big cities for their villages. Chief Elijah Akpan Okon utilized this excess manpower in opening up, and widening their different community roads, which are still being used today. He encouraged the people to show interest in improving their community. Common salt was scarce at this time, and chief Elijah Akpan Okon distributed this essential commodity, free of charge to people.
Somewhere, around January 1968, the Nigerian army had captured Uyo; and the prevailing latent undertone of anarchy gave rise to angry uprising, thuggery, and looting. Significant and irreversible episodes had reached a perilous magnitude, and surpassed a point of no return. Within that community thugs, and angry mop moved in, disdaining any obstruction on their path, until they reached, and carried out the object of their mission being utter looting, and burning to ashes the spacious and well accommodating GOODWILL LODGE compounds of Chief Elijah Akpan Okon, and other relations. They moved on, vandalized, and looted all they could take away from the Northern Ikono Community Center Building. Okuku Tom Akpan Okon alias Udom Nsentip, a senior brother to Chief Elijah Akpan Okon; and others were detained by the Nigerian army.
These excessive, oppressive and distressing news prompted Chief Elijah Akpan Okon to turn himself over to the Nigerian soldiers, mainly, in an effort to rescue and gain freedom to those detainees. Chief Elijah Akpan Okon was courageous throughout the ordeal. He sent a letter to the Nigerian Army commanding officer Uyo specifically stating that he was waiting for them at Northern Ikono Federation center premises. Chief Elijah Akpan Okon was taken to Uyo where he was detained, molested, and eventfully executed, publicly by firing squad, perpetuated by his political opponents, without questions or any form of trial on May 27, 1968 under the orders of Commander Benjamin Adekunle, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian Army for Uyo. His remains were covered up in a shallow dug up pit, a spot, which now is the present site of magnificent Ibom Connection in Uyo.


List of Mills government ministers

This is a listing of the ministers who served in the National Democratic Congress government of John Atta Mills in Ghana starting from 7 January 2009. The Mills presidency ended on 24 July 2012 when President John Atta Mills died. Mills was succeeded by his vice president, John Dramani Mahama.
Mills' government changes.
2009.
The first batch of ministers in the NDC government were sworn in on 13 January 2009. Betty Mould-Iddrisu who was initially out of the country was later sworn in as Ghana's first female Attorney General and Minister for Justice.
Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, the Minister for Sports, resigned on 25 June 2009 following findings of financial impropriety against him by a committee set up by government. Two additional ministers, Dr. George Yankey, Minister for Health and Ahmed Seidu, Minister at the Presidency tended their resignations on 10 October 2009, following allegations of having accepted bribes from a United Kingdom company many years prior to the formation of this government. Both ministers claim to be innocent of the allegations and are to be investigated by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice at the request of President Mills.
2010.
On 25 January 2010, President Mills conducted his first cabinet reshuffle. There were changes of ministers in 7 ministries and one change of regional minister. In all, four new ministers came into government including Alban Bagbin, the Majority Leader in parliament and his deputy, John Tia. Also in were Enoch T. Mensah, a former minister in the Rawlings NDC government and Martin Amidu, the new Interior minister.
On 11 May 2010, Mahmud Khalid, the Upper West Regional Minister was dismissed by President Mills. Khalid suggested members of his party lobbied for his dismissal. Alhaji Issaku Saliah, a former MP for Wa West was nominated as his replacement and approved by parliament on 23 July 2010.
2011.
The second cabinet reshuffle by President Mills was in January 2011. 9 ministries were affected in all. One Regional minister was also changed. Notable changes including replacing Betty Mould-Iddrisu with Martin Amidu as Attorney-General. Zita Okaikoi and Alex Tettey-Enyo were dropped from government.
2012.
In January 2012, Martin Amidu was sacked by President Mills. This followed allegations he made suggesting some members of the ruling party may be corrupt. He was asked to substantiate his allegations by Mills and subsequently sacked ostensibly because he was unable to do so. A few days later, Betty Mould-Iddrissu, Minister for Education who was the Attorney-General before Amidu tended her resignation as Minister for Education. This was accepted by President Mills who appointed Enoch Mensah to replace her as Minister for Education temporarily. A cabinet reshuffle was announced a few days later via a press release from the Office of the President. There were new ministers nominated for approval by parliament. These include William Kwasi Aboah for Interior, Lee Ocran for Education, Fritz Baffour MP for Ablekuma South for Information, Moses Asaga for Employment and Social Welfare, Dominic Azimbe Azumah, MP for Garu - Timpane – Minister of State and Amin Amidu Sulemani, Upper West Regional Minister designate. They were all sworn in on 24 February 2012 by President Mills after having been approved by the Parliament of Ghana. On 26 March 2012, President Mills appointed two new regional ministers. The former ambassador to the Czech Republic, Victor Emmanuel Smith became the new Eastern Region Minister and the MP for Buem, Henry Kamel Ford became the new Volta Region Minister.
Death of President Mills.
On July 25, 2012, President Mills was taken ill and died a few hours afterwards at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.


Kuri II of Kanem

Kure Kura Ibn Abdullahi was a Mai of Kanem. He was killed in a battle with the Sao. He was one of the four sons of Abdullahi I killed in the Sao wars.


Manasse Tyiseseta

Manasse Tyiseseta (April 25, 1850, Otjimbingwe – April 17, 1898, Omaruru) was the leader of a group of Herero with their headquarters in Omaruru.
Life.
Manasse Tyiseseta studied at the Augustineum Secondary School in Otjimbingwe. In 1867, he journeyed with Christian Wilhelm Zeraua to Omaruru (then known as Okonjose). Manasse taught at the local school from 1871 to 1882.
He married Zeraua's daughter Albertina Tjiseseta Zeraua (1851–1951). They had 3 children: Michael Tyiseseta (1872–1924), Hugo Tyiseseta (1877–1951), and Charlotte Tyiseseta Zeraua (1881–1951).
Victor Franke claimed that during the rinderpest epidemic of 1897, Tyiseseta would not allow his cattle to be vaccinated.
Manasse died on April 17, 1898 of typhoid. His grave is located next to that of Christian Zeraua in the cemetery of Omaruru.
Leadership.
Tyiseseta was the half brother of chief Tjaherani (tenure: 1860–1884). After the deaths of Tjaherani and Christian Wilhelm Zeraua in 1884, Tyiseseta became the Herero leader of Omaruru. He signed a treaty of protectionon November 3, 1885 with Heinrich Ernst Göring and thereby with the German Empire. The missionaries Carl Gotthilf Büttner and Gottlieb Viehe were also present. Manasse kept his tribe independent of the Germans and the chieftain Samuel Maharero for many years. trading with Suid-Afrika for weapons, ammo, and other goods. He had his own armed forces.
Samuel Maharero was named the chief Herero leader under German auspices in Augustus 1891, but other chiefs objected. That November 26, Theodor Leutwein negotiated a meeting between Samuel Maharero and Zacharias Zeraua, both agreeing to meet with Tyiseseta. From then on, Tyiseseta's political dominance was backed up by German military might.
External links.
(en) Findagrave: Biography
Bibliography.
(de) Joris de Vries: Manasse Tjiseseta, chief of Omaruru 1884–1898, Namibia. Cologne: Verlag Köppe, 1999.


Duguwa dynasty

The Duguwa dynasty, or Dougouwa (700-1086), is the line of kings ("mai") of the Kanem Empire prior to the rise of the Islamic Seyfawa dynasty in 1086.
According to the Girgam, the Duguwa kings were the kings of Kanem whose dynastic name is derived from Duku, the third king of the Duguwa. Comparisons with accounts from Arab geographers show that the Duguwa were the king of the ruling class called Zaghawa. Up to recently historians believed that the Duguwa kings mentioned in the Girgam ruled in Kanem just before the first Muslim kings.
Richmond Palmer states, "To all intents and purposes both Saif ibn Dthi Yazan and his son Ibrahim are a myth. The first Mai of Kanem was 'Mai Dugu Bremmi,' who succeeded because he was the 'dugu' ("tegasi") or son of the chief's daughter or sister..." "The name dugu means strictly that he was the son of the daughter or a Mai, or Chief, i.e. the person the Tuareg call "tegasi", or heir." "Descent among the Maghumi, as among the Tuareg, passed to the son of a sister of the deceased king, called among the Tuareg, the "tegasi" or heir..." "The legendary eponymous ancestor of the Saifawa, as the Maghumi are called, only became in Muslim times Saif, the 'lion of Yaman'."
One historian suggested that all the Duguwa kings except one were ancient Near Eastern rulers. Their names and titles bear witness of the founding of Kanem by refugees from the Assyrian Empire c. 600 BCE. This hypothesis is, however, not widely accepted.


Rahamim Checkol

Rahamim Checkol (; born May 8, 1988) is an Ethiopian-born Israeli footballer. He currently plays for Agudat Sport Ashdod. At international level, Checkol was capped at levels from under-18 to under-21.
Maccabi Tel Aviv.
On 1 September 2011, Checkol was transferred to Maccabi Tel Aviv for a fee of US$350,000 plus Hatem Abd Elhamed.


Ngombala

"Mulena Yomuhulu Mbumu wa Litunga" Ngombala was a Great Chief of the Lozi people in Zambia, in Africa.
Biography.
Ngombala was a younger son of the Chief Ngalama and was adopted by Imamba.
He succeeded on the death of his elder brother, Yeta II Nalute.
Ngombala had married Notulu I (who was later starved to death), daughter of Mwiyawamatende and Matondo. He died at N'gundu and is buried there.
His children were Prince Mbanga and Chieftess Notulu II and his grandson was King Mwanawina I.


Inyambo

"Mulena Yomuhulu Mbumu wa Litunga" Inyambo was a Great African Chief of the Lozi people in Barotseland, Zambia, one of the first kings of the Lozi, and likely a mythical ruler or demigod.
Biography.
He is called "the son Nyambe of and Mbuymamwambwa". Nyambe (or Nyame) is a Sky deity and Mbuymamwambwa is his Queen consort.
He was a successor of his brother Mwanasolundwi Muyunda Mumbo wa Mulonga.
His consorts were queens named Namwele and Maondo. Namwele bore him a son named Numwa.
He died at Liondo and his successor was Yeta I.


Aristide Vallon

Counter Admiral Aristide Louis Antoine Vallon (July 26, 1826 – March 11, 1897) was born in Le Conquet. He became Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur on January 18, 1881, and was appointed Governor of Senegal the following year. After serving in this position, he became Deputy of Senegal and subsequently Deputy of Brest, France. He died in Paris and was buried in Mirepoix, Ariège.


East Africa High Commission

The East Africa High Commission (EAHC) was an international organisation which existed between 1 January 1948 and 9 December 1961 with the intention of providing common services to the British-administered Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika. It superseded the East Africa Governors' Conference and was later replaced by the East African Common Services Organization (EACSO). The EACSO in turn was replaced by the first East African Community in 1967.
History.
During the Second World War, the British Governors of Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika established several regional boards to help coordinate the war effort. Immediately after the end of the war, the British Government published "proposals for the future management of the inter-territorial services in East Africa", with revised proposals following in 1947. These resulted in the East Africa (High Commission) Order in Council 1947, which came into effect on 1 January 1948. The purpose of the High Commission was to create a single executive authority with competence in certain areas, without otherwise affecting the constitutional status of Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika. It would be supported by an accompanying legislature (the Central Legislative Assembly). The 1947 proposals were received badly in Uganda, particularly in Buganda, where the Bataka Party drew successfully on fears that the High Commission would be a supergovernment controlled by Europeans. The creation of the High Commission thereby contributed to the 1949 riots, during which 1,724 Bugandans were arrested.
The High Commission comprised the Governors of the three territories and met two or three times a year under the chairmanship of the Governor of Kenya. It administered, among other things, the postal network, telecommunications, railways and ports, and oversaw the collection of certain taxes. Decisions were taken by unanimity. The secretariat was based in Nairobi and composed almost entirely of British civil servants. The High Commission was responsible for a number of subordinate bodies (including the East African Railways and Harbours Administration and the East African Posts and Telecommunications Administration), indirectly employing 21,000 people. In 1960 the expenditures of these bodies totalled 125 million dollars.
In June 1961, during the process of decolonisation, representatives of Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika met in London. They agreed to the creation of the East African Common Services Organization (EACSO), which could provide a similar function to the High Commission following decolonisation. The High Commission was formally replaced by EACSO (which was also headquartered in Nairobi) on 9 December 1961 when Tanganyika became the first of the three East African territories to become independent.
Central Legislative Assembly.
The East Africa (High Commission) Order in Council 1947 also created an East Africa Central Legislative Assembly. The Assembly comprised the principle executive officers of the High Commission, together with a number of nominated and unofficial members representing the legislatures of the Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika. Legislation passed by the Assembly applied directly across the three territories.


List of governors of the Gold Coast

This is a list of colonial administrators in the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) from the start of English presence in 1621 until Ghana's independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. In addition to the Gold Coast Colony, the Governor of Gold Coast was for most of the period also responsible for the administration of the Ashanti Colony, the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast Protectorate and the League of Nations/United Nations mandate/trust territory of British Togoland.
Governors of the Committee of Merchants of the Gold Coast (1751–1822).
February 1777
Governors of the Gold Coast (1843–1960).
In 1843 a governor was appointed subordinate to the Governor of Sierra Leone until 1850. After the Third Anglo-Ashanti War of 1873–74, the Gold Coast was formally declared a crown colony.
Governor-General of Ghana (1957–1960).
In 1957, the Gold Coast Colony, the Ashanti Colony, the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast Protectorate and the British Togoland Trust Territory, became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations called Ghana. The Governor-General of Ghana served as the representative of the Queen of Ghana, whose formal title in Ghana was ‘Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Ghana and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth’. The entire dominion formed part of Her Majesty's dominions until the country became a republic in 1960.


Pottery of Manda Island

The basic chronology of the early town of Manda Island in the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya is divided into 6 different periods, based mostly on the types of imported pottery that has been found in different strata of the excavations. The first period, I, begins in the mid ninth century and is subdivided into four parts, a, b, c, and d, ending in the early eleventh century. Period II has two parts, A and B, though the divide between the two is rather vague and could be entirely arbitrary, and dates from the mid eleventh to the late twelfth for the former, and late twelfth to late thirteenth century for the latter. Period III runs from the late thirteenth century to the fourteenth when Period IV picks up and ends in the early Sixteenth. Period V covers the mid Sixteenth and all of the seventeenth, and the final period covers everything after the Seventeenth century.
Imported wares.
Imported Chinese stone and porcelain wares.
These vessels are interesting because there are no other pieces of contemporary Chinese wares found in east Africa.
There were five types of Chinese wares in period I:
Islamic wares.
Unglazed Islamic wares.
These wares comprise 50% of the assemblage in the first period, which is rather unusual as this type of pottery is very rare in other East African sites. All specimens appear to have been wheel thrown.
Types of unglazed Islamic wares.
Unglazed Islamic wares found at Manda are generally identified by vessel type.
Storage jars.
The storage jars fall into 5 categories.
Basins.
Basins come in three varieties.
Bowls.
There are two types of bowls. One is open with straight sides, a plain rim, and a flat base. The only ornamentation on this type is a groove located below the rim and it is covered by a dense, usually cream colored but occasionally brown, fabric. The other type is a handled bowl with a spout which is between 25 and 35 cm in diameter. They both have a moulded rim with marked carination, small vertical handles with a ridge down the middle, short spouts and are cream or buff in color; there is a single example in red with a white slip.
Handled vessels in buff fabric.
There is a very large assemblage of this type with a variety of vessels in a number of sizes. Most come with handles and are usually generally covered with a soft porous fabric. There are large jars that can be up to 50–60 cm in height, but they also come as jugs and pitchers. The bases of these vessels are usually flat or slightly recessed, but there have been examples found at Manda that exhibit ring bases. One example is decorated with a molded wavy lines around the base. Another example has a deep red coloring both inside and out. They are thinly potted and covered in a green buff fabric in the case of the larger vessels and the fabric very closely resembles the paste color found on the Hole mouth jars mentioned previously. There are examples, however, of the larger vessels in a decidedly pink tinge. The smaller jugs, on the other hand, tend to have a cream colour rather than a buff one, and said buff often has a green tinge to it. The fabric on these vessels is also very absorbent and rubs off as a fine dust any time it is handled. The decoration on these vessels is usually limited to the upper part of the vessels, and usually consists of incised line designs, but there are also examples of vessels of this type decorated with moulding. When these moulded designs are present, they are usually on the handles of the vessel, which are in turn sometimes decorated with a very distinctive knob-like design at the upper curve. These handles can be grouped into two classes; one is rather close in appearance to the Amphora style, and the other is cast in two pieces, always with a figure eight section. This type of pottery is also called Siraf cream with the more “refined” varieties being labelled as Gudulia and Eggshell ware. This type of pottery is also remarkably similar to jugs that are found in an early Islamic city called Susa. Of the specimens of this style found at Manda, the largest percentage were found in early period I deposits, with a few found in deposits that are likely a mix of both periods I and II and several that date to later periods. This style also has a pilgrim bottle shape that is present in deposits at Kilwa that are not present in Manda deposits.
Painted ware.
Only three specimens of this type have been found, all of them body sherds which appear to be from jars or bottles. Of the sherds, the largest one shows a coarse crimson fabric with black paint, over a buff slip. The other two sherds, on the other hand, are coloured with a reddish buff paste with one exhibiting a very thin layer of a green glaze. These sherds date to Period I and are possibly related to painted wares from Susa.
Miscellaneous fragments.
There are a number of rim sherds from vessels of unknown form but thought to possibly of very deep bowls. The fabric of these vessels is distinctly sandy and usually comes in a pink or red shade. There is a single sample of a large, very thickly potted vessel, whose fabric is a light green buff. The sides of this vessel are nearly vertical. There is also a single sherd that appears to have been from the late ninth century which is believed to be a pseudo Sigilatta style slipware. There is also a single sherd of a grey impressed ware vessel which seems to be of a closed wheel thrown variety, perhaps some sort of jug or bottle. The sherd shows a grey-brown paste and is decorated with tooled incised lines and a walked motif.
Pottery of Indian origin.
Pottery of this origin consists almost entirely of water pots. They are always unglazed but their fabric is distinct from those found on either local or known Islamic pottery. These vessels are highly unsuited for cooking but there are two specimens in the assemblage that show blackening from fire. These vessels have noticeably out-turned rims, along with very narrow mouths. The profile of these vessels is rather low and wide as well. The fabric comes in a rather large variety, though the characteristic fabric for this type is a grey shade with a sizable amount of chaff or the like. Some of these vessels are fired buff or red though and there are some with a black grit. These vessels are primarily of Period I but there are examples from Period II and later.
Local pottery.
The entirety of pottery made in Africa south of the Sahara was unglazed and made without the use of a wheel. These vessels were either coiled or moulded into shape; there are, however, a small number of specimens that are pinched into shape. These vessels are always made by open firing rather than firing in a kiln. There is also no acceptable source of clay on the island so while the pottery might be of the local style, where the vessels came from is unknown. There are some that are likely to have been manufactured on the coast, due to the presence of shell fragments in the paste.
Fabrics on local pottery.
The majority of local pottery has a fabric that is extremely soft and very easily removed. The core is usually a black surface and the colors upon it range from pink and red to grey and a near true black. There are four types of fabric that can be found in the local pottery at Manda. The first is a very dark, very crumbly fabric. The second is referred to as Hard Fabric. This fabric rather rare in local pottery, and is characterized by a relatively hard and compacted paste. Refractory fabric is called so for the large amounts of quartz grains within, and its fabric has a very coarse and gritty feel to it. This type of fabric is only found in crucibles. The final type is the Pink fabric which is only found in painted wares imported from further south. The surface of these ranges from pink to red, and the paste is rather sandy. These vessels are fired pink to buff throughout.
Early kitchen wares.
The first type of Early Kitchen wares is divided into 9 categories and all of them are bag shaped vessels with tall rims that curve outward and an “s” shaped neck. This type is usually decorated with incised decorations, though there is an inverse correlation between the size of the vessel and the skill involved in the decoration; usually the larger the vessel the less skilled the decoration. This type is also characteristic of period I
Significance.
The reason that pottery at Manda is so significant is the fact that none of the pottery found at Manda originated there. This fact, in addition to the fact that Manda is an island, gives an inkling as to exactly how important trade was to the early town. The vast geographic range of the pottery found at Manda also gives archaeologists an idea of just how far-flung the trading ties Manda and the rest of the Swahili coast were.


2005 Mauritian general election

General elections were held in Mauritius on 3 July 2005, with polls counted on 4 July.
The "Alliance Sociale", a coalition led by the Mauritian Labour Party (PTr) and including the Mauritian Party of Xavier-Luc Duval (PMXD), the Mauritian Social Democrat Party (MSN), "Les Verts" (Greens), the Republican Movement, and the Mauritian Militant Socialist Movement (MMSM), won the election with 42 of the 70 seats (38 elected directly, and another 4 nominated under the country's "best loser" system). The PTr leader, Navin Ramgoolam, was subsequently appointed Prime Minister on 5 July, with Rashid Beebeejaun as his deputy. Three other coalition leaders were elected, but the "Les Verts" leader failed to oust outgoing Prime Minister Paul Bérenger from his constituency.
24 seats were won by Bérenger's coalition, consisting of the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) and the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM); of these, 22 were directly elected and 2 nominated as "best losers". Pravind Jugnauth, the MSM leader, lost his seat to an "Alliance Sociale" candidate.
The two seats reserved for the island of Rodrigues were won by the Rodrigues Movement (OPR); another 2 OPR members were appointed as "best losers."
8 of the 70 seats are allocated to "best losers," appointed to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are equitably represented.
Results.
The total number of votes is higher than the population because Mauritians get to vote for up to 3 times in a single election.


Mpindi clan

Mpindi is one of the 56 clans of the Buganda Kingdom, one of the largest nations of Uganda. The Mpindi chief is Mazige, whose headquarters are located in Muyenje in Busiro County in Uganda. The Mpindi clan has the "mpindi," a Luganda word for cowpea ("Vigna unguiculalta"), as its totem.
Origin.
According to legend, Mbogga, the founder of the clan, came with Ssekabaka (King) Kintu to establish the kingdom of Buganda along the north western shores of Lake Nalubaale (Victoria) during the 15th century. Traditionally, Mbogga's job in the palace was to look after the king's cow, "Mbulidde", a role that is now performed by the clan in the kingdom. The Mpindi Clan currently is divided into two units; one belongs to Mbogga with its headquarters on Nsumba Hill in Mawokota (current Mpigi District) and the other belongs to Mugalu in Kyaggwe (current Mukono District).
Mpindi Clan drum-Beat (Omubala Gw'ekika kye Mpindi).
The Mpindi clan has two drumbeats "mibala"


Kayima of Buganda

Kayima Sendikaddiwa was Kabaka (King) of the Kingdom of Buganda, between 1494 and 1524. He was the 7th Kabaka of Buganda.
Claim to the throne.
He was the son of Prince (Omulangira) Wampamba, by his first wife, Lady Nakayima. He ascended the throne upon the death of his grandfather, Kiggala Mukaabya in 1494. He established his capital at Nazigo Hill.
Marital life.
He had two wives:
Issue.
He fathered two sons:
The final years.
He was killed in battle against Chief Bwakamba of Nyendo, at Sunga, in 1524. He is buried at Nabulagala, Busiro.