2009 Mauritanian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Mauritania on 18 July 2009. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who led the 2008 coup d'état, won a narrow first-round majority in the election, according to official results. A second round, if necessary, would have been held on 1 August 2009.
Following the coup which deposed President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi on 6 August 2008, the new junta (the High Council of State) promised that a presidential election would be held "as soon as possible". The election was subsequently scheduled for 6 June 2009.
Abdel Aziz, who was President of the High Council of State, stepped down in April 2009 in order to stand as a candidate. The opposition initially planned to boycott the election, arguing that the junta pursued a unilateral electoral agenda, and as a result Abdel Aziz was widely expected to win the election. Later, however, the opposition agreed to participate as part of a deal with the junta in June 2009, making the election appear more competitive; as part of the deal, the election was delayed to July and a national unity government was formed to lead the country through the election period.
Background.
On 15 September 2008, the National Assembly adopted plans to hold "free and fair elections" within 12–14 months, setting the election date in late 2009 at the latest. The chosen date of 6 June 2009 was announced by the official media on 23 January 2009.
Months before the election, it was widely expected that Abdel Aziz would stand as a candidate; Abdel Aziz said that retired officers should be allowed to run, fuelling speculation that he might retire from the army and run as a civilian. On 4 February 2009, while still expressing support for the coup and saying that Abdallahi should not be restored to the Presidency, Ahmed Ould Daddah—the country's main opposition leader, who heads the Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD) and placed second in the 2007 presidential election—proposed that the army give up power and that anyone who was serving in the military at the time of the coup should not be allowed to run in the presidential election. Abdel Aziz announced that he would run in the election on 29 March 2009, as was widely expected, and said that he would resign as Head of State (to be succeeded by the President of the Senate) in order to stand as a candidate.
On 8 April, Abdel Aziz told France 24 that he intended to resign prior to 22 April, as necessary for him to stand as a candidate. He also said that the election would be held as planned on 6 June, contradicting rumors of a delay that could facilitate possible mediation aimed at securing the participation of opposition parties. According to Abdel Aziz, the election was desired by 90% of the population. Later on 8 April, members of the pro-Abdallahi National Front for the Defense of Democracy (FNDD), including the President of the National Assembly, Massaoud Ould Boulkheir, held a protest in Nouakchott. Boulkheir denounced the "unilateral electoral agenda of the putschists" and warned that "neither tanks, nor guns nor live bullets can stop our fight against the usurpation of power by force". The announcement of a new electoral commission, headed by Cheikh Saadbouh Camara, also occurred on 8 April.
Opposition parties announced they would boycott the elections. The Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal (AJD/MR), led by Ibrahima Sarr, expressed support for the military junta, and Sarr announced on April 11, 2009, that he would be a candidate in the election. Sarr said that "the conditions are there for a free poll" and that Mauritania did not have democracy under Abdallahi's presidency. Kane Hamidou Baba, Vice-President of the National Assembly and Vice-President of the RFD, also sought to stand as a candidate, although he did so without the approval of the RFD. Due to Baba's friendly attitude towards the junta, he was expelled from the FNDD coalition. Another candidate was Sghair Ould M'Bareck, who served as Prime Minister under President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya from 2003 to 2005.
Abdel Aziz resigned on 15 April 2009 and was succeeded by Ba Mamadou Mbaré as Acting President. The deadline for the registration of presidential candidacies expired on 22 April; by that point none of the major opposition leaders, including RFD President Daddah, had registered, as they were all participating in the boycott. Observers concluded that the lack of a credible challenger meant that Abdul Aziz would easily win the election, although they noted that the credibility of the election itself could be threatened by the opposition boycott.
The Constitutional Court approved four candidacies on 27 April: those of Abdel Aziz, Ibrahima Sarr, Kane Hamidou Baba, and Sghair Ould M'Bareck. All of these candidates were sympathetic to the coup. The Union for the Republic (UPR) political party elected Abdel Aziz as its President at the party's constituent assembly on 5 May 2009; the UPR holds a parliamentary majority.
Abdel Aziz met with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and envoys from the African Union on 14 May 2009; although they reportedly wanted the election to be delayed in order to encourage the opposition to participate, Abdel Aziz said after the meeting that there would be no delay. Wade also met separately with Abdallahi and Daddah. Daddah said at a press conference on 26 May that there could be no talks unless the junta agreed to release political prisoners and suspend the electoral timetable.
Shortly before the scheduled date of the election, in reconciliation talks on 31 May 2009 it was agreed to postpone the election to 21 July and 4 August; this was later denied by the government, and on 2 June 2009 it was announced that it had been postponed to 18 July and 1 August. A final agreement between the junta and the opposition was signed on 4 June. The agreement provided for Abdallahi's formal resignation as President, the installation of a national unity government that would serve briefly prior to the election, and set the date of the election as 18 July. As a result of the agreement, all of the major parties were expected to participate in the election.
Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, who headed the 2005–2007 military junta, announced on 6 June 2009 that he would be a presidential candidate, running as an independent. He condemned the 2008 coup, asserting that it was "wrong and there was no reason for it" and that it had "provoked a particularly dangerous situation in our country". He stressed, however, that his candidacy was not directed against any particular individual, and he said that his goal, if elected, was "to build a reconciled country that is politically and economically viable and stable". He also said that he would "probably no longer be interested in public affairs" if not for the 2008 coup. The RFD announced on 9 June that Daddah had been designated as the party's presidential candidate by a special party congress. Observers considered Abdel Aziz, Daddah, and Vall to be the key candidates.
The moderate Islamist National Rally for Reform and Development (RNRD), which opposed the coup and participated in the FNDD, designated its President, Mohamed Jemil Ould Mansour, as its candidate on 14 June. Although the party chose to run its own candidate, it said that it would continue coordinating with the FNDD.
Candidates.
After the postponement of the elections and the formation of an interim government, ten candidates registered to run in the election and were approved by the Constitutional Council — the four candidates who had already registered to run before the Dakar Agreement:
and six additional candidates:
The main rhetorical theme of the campaign, which was described as "lacklustre" by Agence France-Presse, was the need for change and development. Abdel Aziz, also stressing the importance of change, presented himself as a champion of the poor; he had substantially lowered the prices of basic goods and services, engaged in public works projects, and granted land rights. In light of those efforts, as well as a purported tendency among Mauritanians to favor strong rule, analysts judged that he was the front-runner. "The New York Times" reported that support for Abdel Aziz in Dar Naim, a "desperately poor" Nouakchott neighborhood, was "universal".
A survey in the newspaper "Le Rénovateur" had Abdel Aziz, Daddah, and Boulkheir as the top three candidates. Boulkheir, a black descendant of slaves, notably won support from many white Moors (the traditionally dominant ethnic group), marking a significant change from past attitudes; some compared Boulkheir to United States President Barack Obama. Boulkheir was supported by Abdallahi, and Boulkheir and Daddah agreed that each would support the other if either reached a second round against Abdel Aziz.
Conduct.
In the hours prior to the beginning of voting, a shootout occurred in Nouakchott between police and suspected Islamist militants. Two of the suspects were arrested, and the government said that they were involved in the death of Christopher Leggett, an American who was killed in Nouakchott on 23 June.
The election was monitored by more than 200 elections observers, including those from the African Union and the Arab League. Voting opened at 7:00 a.m. UTC and lasted for twelve hours. Some Mauritanians living outside of the nation who had registered for the election were unable to vote because their names did not appear on voting lists. They say it is because they opposed the 2008 Mauritanian coup d'état. One such Mauritanian, Mohamed Sidatt, said that 300 people, including himself, who had registered to vote did not have their names on the final voting lists. Sidatt said, "I did [register] and I have a valid Mauritanian passport, but my name did not appear on the final list. And I know it's because I was an active voice against the military coup."
Observers from the African Union, La Francophonie, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, African Arab Maghreb Union, and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States jointly endorsed the conduct of the election as "satisfactory". Meanwhile, FNDD spokesman Mohamed Ould Mouloud alleged "massive fraud"; he said that the coalition would gather evidence and take the matter to the Constitutional Court.
Abdel Aziz, voting in Nouakchott, expressed confidence that he would win in the first round, although observers expected that a second round would be necessary. He also said that if he won the election it would mean "the victory of change for a prosperous Mauritania, worthy of its independence". Also on election day, Vall alleged fraud, saying that in some cases the votes of whole villages had been bought. Boulkheir, voting in Nouakchott, stressed that the country would "never turn back" to dictatorship.
Results.
Partial results on 19 July, with 61.17% of votes counted, showed Abdel Aziz with a narrow first-round majority of 52.2%; his supporters celebrated in the streets of Nouakchott. Boulkheir and Daddah, the main opposition candidates, trailed distantly with 16.63% and 13.89% respectively. Mansour had 4.66% and Vall had 3.78%. Also on 19 July, Boulkheir, Daddah, Vall, and Meimou jointly denounced the results as fraudulent. Later in the day, the results remained essentially unchanged with 92% of the votes counted. Boulkheir said, "We refuse to recognize these results and call on the international community to create a commission to investigate to expose this manipulation." At a press conference, Abdel Aziz dismissed the claims of fraud, saying that the opposition had not presented any proof. Interior Minister Mohamed Ould Rzeizim then declared Abdel Aziz the winner on the same day, crediting him with 52.58%; Rzeizim placed turnout at 64.58%.
Aftermath.
Independent candidate Kane Hamidou Baba promptly accepted the results and congratulated Abdel Aziz, as did Mansour, the Tawassoul candidate, and Hanenna, the HATEM candidate.
Sid'Ahmed Ould Deye, the President of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), announced on 21 July that Boulkheir, Daddah, Vall, and Meimou had filed complaints regarding the election; on the same day, it was reported that Boulkheir, Daddah, and Vall had appealed to the Constitutional Court regarding the results. Ould Deye resigned on 23 July 2009, stating that he now had doubts about the reliability of the election results. A few hours later, the Constitutional Court confirmed Abdel Aziz's victory. Daddah then called for "a recount of the votes and a chemical analysis of the ballot papers", while urging the people "to reject this new coup d'etat" and "use all forms of democratic struggle". He also expressed praise for Deye's "refusal to assent to this electoral masquerade".
At a press conference on 30 July, Vall said that the election was merely a means of legitimizing the 2008 coup and that it had effectively reverted the country to the authoritarianism it had experienced under President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, who Vall and Abdel Aziz ousted in 2005. He also said that he would continue to struggle against Abdel Aziz's regime.
Abdel Aziz was sworn in at a ceremony in Nouakchott on 5 August 2009, one day prior to the first anniversary of the coup that initially brought him to power. About 20,000 people were in attendance, along with several regional leaders: Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure, Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, and Gambian Vice-President Isatou Njie-Saidy. Representatives of the African Union were also present.


Gerard Lewis Howe

Sir Gerard Howe KC (3 June 1899 – 25 May 1955) was a British lawyer and judge. He was Chief Justice of Hong Kong in the early 1950s.
Early life.
Howe was born on 3 June 1899. He was the son of Gerard Augustus Howe of Dublin and Nina daughter of Henry Beasley, Monkstown, Dublin. He was educated at The Royal School, Armagh and Trinity College, Dublin. He served in the military during World War I and was mentioned in despatches. He qualified as a barrister at law at King's Inns in 1923. He married Margaret, daughter of Francis Maguire JP in 1927.
Legal appointments.
Howe joined the Colonial Legal Service and was appointed resident magistrate in Kenya in 1930. He then served as Crown counsel in the Gold Coast (1934–1937) and Straits Settlements (1937–1941).
He was appointed Solicitor General in Nigeria in 1941 and then promoted to Attorney General in 1946. He was appointed a King's Counsel in 1946. He was knighted in 1949 whilst attorney general of Nigeria.
In 1950, he was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong replacing Sir Leslie Bertram Gibson.
Death.
Howe fell ill in the summer of 1953 and in April 1954 returned to his home in Bullough Castle, Dublin.
Howe died while still in office on 25 May 1955 in London.
On his death, the Full Court convened on 28 May 1955 to pay tribute to him. A two-minute silence was also observed by Chief Magistrate Hin-Shing Lo.


Kofoworola Oladoyinbo Ojomo

Kofoworola Oladoyinbo Ojomo is the paramount Yoruba king of Ijebu, Owo in Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria. He is a descendant of Ojugbelu Arere, the pioneer Olowo of Owo.
He ascended the throne on June 13, 2004, following the demise of Agboola Ojomo Agunloye in May 2003. He ascended the throne after retiring from the Nigerian Army with the rank of General.
Installation controversy.
There was a controversy over his installation on June 13, 2004. Following his nomination by the king-makers as a qualified and preferred candidate for the throne, Amaka who was also a candidate sought a High Court order to annul his candidacy. This was refused, and Kofoworola was affirmed as the Ojomo Oluda. Amaka was not satisfied with this judgment and appealed against it. installed by oba DVF olateru-olagbegi


List of rulers of Nanumba

Territory located in Ghana


Movement for Unity, Peace and Security

The Movement for Unity, Peace and Security (, MUPS) was a political party in the Central African Republic.
History.
The party joined the National Convergence "Kwa Na Kwa" alliance for the 2005 general elections. The alliance won 42 seats, of which MUPS won one.
Several Kwa Na Kwa factions merged into a single political party in August 2009.


Somali Youth Club


Keagborekuzi I

Obi Keagborekuzi I (born Benjamin Keagborekuzi Ikenchukwu or Ikenchuku on 29 June 1977) is the Dein (or Obi) of Agbor, a Nigerian traditional state in Delta State, Nigeria. He was named the world's youngest crowned monarch in the 1980 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. He was the Chancellor of the University of Ilorin (2006-2015).
Early life, kingship education.
Keagborekuzi I was born on June 29, 1977, in Agbor, Bendel State (now part of Delta State), Nigeria, to Obi Ikenchukwu I and Queen Grace Ikenchukwu (née Isedeh). His mother died in a motor crash on November 2, 1977, and his father, on April 29, 1979. In 1979, after the unexpected demise of his father at age two and a half, he was crowned as the child king of the kingdom of Agbor. His name, "Keagborekuzi" means, "What is Agbor saying again?" The young crowned king was thereafter flown abroad where for about the first twenty years of his life, he remained. To govern the kingdom, a regent reigned in his stead until 2001 when he returned to take over the governance of the monarchy. His 42nd birthday on Saturday June 25, 2019, was celebrated amidst pleasantries and praises from the Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa.
In 2003, he helped resolve a dispute between ao enemy, the Agbor-Obi Youth Movement and the police.
He was present with other monarchs of his home state who met in February 2020 to place a ban on herdsmen activities in their domains following attacks in the area by the herdsmen.
In March 2020, he told Daily Times Nigeria that his chiefdom would partner with the NAPTIP to end trafficking in persons in his domain.
External links.


Yuhi IV Gahindiro

Yuhi IV Gahindiro was the King of Rwanda from 1792 to 1802. He was the head of Bahindiro clan and father of Mutara II Rwogera. His reign is remembered in Rwandan history as the most peaceful. He died with no blood on his hands. His other recorded children were Nyirindekwe, Nkusi, Rubega, Rwanyanya, Rwayega,
Rwabika, Nyabigondo, Nkoronko, Mutijima, Nyamashara, Rubamburamanzi, Mashara and Urujeni. Yuhi IV died of old age.


Squatting in Ghana

Squatting in Ghana is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. Informal settlements are found in cities such as Kumasi and the capital Accra. Ashaiman, now a town of 100,000 people, was swelled by squatters. In central Accra, next to Agbogbloshie, the Old Fadama settlement houses an estimated 80,000 people and is subject to a controversial discussion about eviction. The residents have been supported by Amnesty International, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and Shack Dwellers International.
History.
In Ghana, following British colonialism squatting occurred at a lower rate than in other countries both because of strong tribal control of land and because it is viewed in a negative light as it violates traditional views on indigenous property rights. A rare example of squatting in the 1960s is Ashaiman, which was expanded by workers building the new city of Tema and is now a town of 100,000 people. Another example is Adiembra at Kumasi.
More recently, the poor are generally excluded from housing and employment opportunities, so they squat land on the edge of cities to live on and also occupy pavements and public areas in order to sell goods as hawkers. The authorities frequently evict informal settlements; for example in the 2000s, 7,000 people were forcibly removed from beside Lake Volta in Digya National Park and the army evicted 800 people from Legion Village.
In the capital Accra, in 2018 a shanty town was evicted to make way for the Marine Drive Project and the following year hundreds of squatters were evicted by the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly (AWMA).
Old Fadama.
In informal settlements such as Old Fadama next to Agbogbloshie in central Accra, an informal economy has developed in which squatter landlords rent out places to live. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) decided in the early 2010s to evict Old Fadama, where an estimated 80,000 people were living. The site of 31.3 hectares had grown as a settlement from the 1990s onwards, housing both Ghanaian migrants fleeing conflict in the north and middle-class residents of Accra who lost their houses elsewhere. The settlement is mainly constructed of shacks without sanitation, and flooding from the nearby Odaw river occurs frequently.
The proposed eviction became a controversial issue, with the AMA wanting to redevelop the land next to the Korle Lagoon without supplying alternative accommodation for the squatters. It justified its position by referring to the illegality of the occupation and the health risks of the current site. The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) produced a report showing that it would be possible to work on the lagoon and upgrade the settlement without the residents having to move. The Ghana Federation of the Urban Poor also backed the inhabitants and in co-operation with Shack Dwellers International set up a local savings scheme, which was successful and had spread to 82 other settlements by 2005. In 2009, conflict in Old Fadama between representatives of various political parties led to the new mayor restarting the eviction process. After COHRE and Amnesty International intervened, the plans were again dropped.


Kigeli II Nyamuheshera

"Kigeli II Nyamuheshera" was Mwami (King) of the Kingdom of Rwanda from 1576-1609.
He was a great warrior and expansionist. He had a strong army known as the "Inkingi" ("pillar"). One of his military camps, known as "Iziruguru", was attacked by a people called "Abanyabungo" from the western Kivu in the modern-day Congo.
Kigeli II attacked chiefdoms in eastern Congo, including Bishugi, Kamuronsi, Gishali, Buhunde, Buzi, and Tongo (Masisi). He was stopped by thick rain forests from proceeding further into Congo.
He redirected his expansionist attacks into western Uganda, around Lake Edward, and stopped at the "rock of Kabasha" (urutare rwa Kabasha) and marked it as the then border between Rwanda and Busongora. Busongora was also known as the land of the Bacwezi. It was against Rwandan customary law to attack Busongora as it was believed to be the home of the god Ryangombe.
He attacked and conquered chiefdoms of Buberuka and confiscated their drum known as "Icyungo" and attacked Kigezi and Bushengero where he came upon a unique variety of beans cultivated in Rwanda to this day and which supplanted the indigenous type that was known as "Ibiharo". He also confiscated from Bunyoro a breed of goats known as "Ihene z'Akamenesho". These goats were large and were assigned special care. A tradition of goat show and parade was introduced at the palace until the reign of Yuhi V Musinga during whose time a caretaker named Bunyereri wa Muhozi from Gishubi in Gitarama was the goats' shepherd.
During Kigeli II Nyamuheshera's reign, parts of Rwanda were under occupation by neighboring kingdoms.
Some of the areas effected were the territories of "Bwanacyambwe", which had been confiscated by a king known as Kimenyi II Shumbusho, and the territories of "Gisaka" and "Ndorwa", found in modern parts of north western Tanzania and south western Uganda.
Kigeli II's opportunity to attack and reclaim Bwanacyambwe and Gisaka arose when the teenage king of Ndorwa, "Gahaya I Rutindageli", initiated a conflict against his cousin, the teenage king of Gisaka, "Kimenyi III Rwahasha". These two kings were still too young to rule in their own right, so their mothers ruled on their behalf.
Ndorwa's queen mother, "Nyiragahaya I", went to war against "Nyirakimenyi III Kabonde" of Gisaka on behalf of their sons. The fight took palace at "Muzizi" near Lake Muhazi. The Ndorwa aggressors defeated Queen Nyirakimenyi III of Gisaka.
Nyirakimenyi suffered a humiliating defeat. She was captured and had her breasts cut off by her inlaw Nyiragahaya I.
Gisaka's teenage King Kimenyi III was a nephew of Bwanacyambwe's King Kimenyi II Shumbusho. After his mother's horrific defeat, the people of Gisaka and Bwanacyambwe's king Kimenyi II requested Rwandan King Kigeli II Nyamuheshera (their former nemesis) to help hide the teenage king and lend them military power to drive Ndorwa Queen Nyiragahaya I out of Gisaka.
Kigeli II agreed on condition that King Kimenyi return the territory of Bwanacyambwe to the Kingdom of Rwanda.
Kimenyi II agreed to Kigeli II's condition.
The two set off and launched a combined army against Queen Nyiragahaya I's army.
The Ndorwa army was defeated on the first attack and the Kingdom of Rwanda
regained its territory of "Bwanacyambwe".
At that point, Kigeli II Nyamuheshera spared King Kimenyi II & III's lives and refrained from capturing the territory of Gisaka, as it was under a boy king. It was dishonorable in Rwandan tradition to attack and conquer a kingdom whose king was still a child.
Instead Gisaka became a Rwandan protectorate. It was to fully become part of Rwanda a few centuries later during the reign of Rwabugili IV.
Kigeli II Nyamuheshera's reign is also marked by the death of his queen, Nyirakigeli II Ncenderi, by suicide after she suspected that she was pregnant through adultery.
Queen Nyirakigeli II Ncenderi was buried at Butangampundu, a special burial place for Rwandan kings, queens, and royals that were suspected to have died as a result of suicide.
Kigeli II Nyamuheshera was buried at Burenga near Shayo in Byumba.
He had a medal of honor known as "Umudende" for defeating seven foreign kings.


George Thomas Napier

Sir George Thomas Napier (30 June 1784 – 16 September 1855) was a British Army officer who saw service in the Peninsular War and later commanded the army of the Cape Colony.
Life.
He entered the British Army in 1800, and served with distinction under Sir John Moore and the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula—losing his right arm at the 1812 storming of Ciudad Rodrigo, where, as a major in the 52nd Foot, he led the Light Division's storming party.
He became major-general in 1837, KCB in 1838 and lieutenant-general in 1846. He was governor and Commander-In-Chief of the army in the Cape Colony from 1839 to 1843, during which time the abolition of slavery and the expulsion of the Boers from Natal were the chief events. He was offered, but declined, the chief command in India after the Battle of Chillianwalla, and also that of the Sardinian army in 1849. He became full general in 1854. He died at Geneva, Switzerland on 16 September 1855, aged 71.
His autobiography, "Passages in the Early Military Life of General Sir G.T. Napier", was published by his surviving son, General William Craig Emilius Napier (the author of an important work on outpost duty) in 1885.
The town of Napier, Western Cape, and also Napier House at Fairbairn College, Goodwood, Cape Town, are named after Sir George Thomas Napier.


Joseph Booth (missionary)

Joseph Booth (1851 in Derby, England – 1932) was an English missionary working in British Central Africa (present-day Malawi) and South Africa. In his 30s, Booth abandoned his career as a businessman and, for the rest of his life, he undertook missionary work for several Christian denominations including Baptist, Seventh Day Baptist and Seventh-day Adventist churches, and he was appointed a missionary by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Throughout his successive ministries, his defining beliefs were a radical egalitarianism, including a scheme of "Africa for the Africans"’ and, from 1898, Seventh-Day Sabbath (Sabbatarian) observance.
Early career.
Britain and Australia.
Little is known of Booth's childhood, but his mother died when he was twelve and his three elder sisters brought him up. His father was a Unitarian, but by the age of fourteen Booth questioned his father's religious beliefs and, as he could not live with those beliefs, he left home. Over the next few years, Booth educated himself through extensive reading and, before he was twenty, he turned to the Baptist Church. He married his first wife, Mary Jane née Sharpe, (who he first met on 1868) in 1872. He also adopted radical ideas about politics, economics and society. In 1880, Booth emigrated first to Auckland, New Zealand, and then to Melbourne, Australia, where he became a successful businessman. His business success helped to develop his later views on self-reliance and the economic basis of missionary work. From 1886, Booth became more active in his local Baptist Church and more fundamental in his beliefs. In 1891 he was challenged by an atheist to practice what he preached, to sell all his goods and go to preach the word. He sold his business and, in July 1891, he agreed to become a missionary in East Africa. Despite the death of his first wife, Mary Jane, in Melbourne in October 1891, he left Australia with his two young children and started his missionary career, choosing to work in Africa. He aimed to set up the type of self-supporting Baptist mission that William Carey had pioneered in India, combining teaching and commercial activities.
In Nyasaland.
Booth first came to Africa in 1892 with his two children, Edward (who died of malaria aged 19 in 1896) and Emily, and worked to establish the Zambezi Industrial Mission at Mitsidi, close to Blantyre in the recently proclaimed British Central Africa Protectorate. As the mission needed to become self-supporting, Booth decided to locate it close to the existing commercial centre and market of Blantyre. Although the foundation of the Zambezi Industrial Mission is often dated from 1892, the land for the mission was purchased in 1893 and its main buildings came into use in 1894. Booth also founded the Nyasa Industrial Mission in 1893, the Baptist Industrial Mission in 1895 and several others in later years. He organised or supported several other schemes with similar aims including the African Christian Union, the British Christian Union, and the British African Congress. At the Zambezi Industrial Mission, he recruited local farmers to plant coffee, and within a year a significant acreage of that crop was being grown. Before 1896, Booth made no dramatic calls for political or social change: he was more concerned with establishing and running the missions and raising financial support in Britain. However, his experiences during this period increased his awareness of colonial issues. This was to influence his later advocacy of Africa for the native Africans instead of for Europeans, a view unpopular with colonial authorities and most European missionaries of the time.
Although he began a number of institutions some of which, including the Zambezi Industrial Mission, survive today as the missions or local churches in Malawi, other institutions he founded failed. After setting these institutions up, Booth usually did not remain with them for long, and their survival was due to their own efforts. The failure of the others was often caused by lack of finance, natural disasters or deficient personnel, factors Booth could not control. However, some institutional failures arose from Booth's weaknesses including his restlessness and his inability to compromise with any lack of commitment by his colleagues or the failures of society. By 1896 Booth's disagreements with his colleagues over finance, doctrine and especially African independence led to him ending of his associations with the Zambezi Industrial Mission and the Nyasa Industrial Mission. In March 1896, Booth married his second wife, Annie née Watkins, during a short visit to Britain. She accompanied him to Central Africa, where their daughter, Mary Winifred, was born in 1898.
Chilembwe and sabbatarianism.
He made a trip to Britain and the United States in 1897, taking along his former household servant, John Chilembwe. Chilembwe stayed in Virginia to study as a Baptist pastor and later returned to Nyasaland where he founded the Providence Industrial Mission , following the model set by Booth's industrial missions, and led the Chilembwe uprising in 1915. By 1898, Booth had become a convinced Sabbatarian, which became one of the guiding principles for the rest of his life, and he turned to the Seventh Day Baptists to support his missionary activities. Booth returned to Central Africa in 1899 and established the Plainfield Industrial Mission in Thyolo District for the Seventh Day Baptists. This was named after the Plainfield Seventh Day Baptist Church in New Jersey which had funded it. In 1900 Booth succeeded in establishing a short-lived institute to produce African leaders for the Seventh Day Baptist Church. Two years later, the institute was discontinued, although Booth pointed out that the existing elementary schools could not produce African pastors, and the production of African church leaders was essential to promoting African development.
Booth continued his pro-African efforts, producing a petition in 1899 to the commissioner Alfred Sharpe, which demanded that the whole protectorate should revert to African control in 21 years and that all of the Hut tax revenue should be spent on African education, including higher education for at least five percent of Africans. These views did not go over well with the colonial administration, and Sharpe tried to arrest and deport Booth for his "seditious remarks". Before this could happen, Booth escaped to Mozambique, remaining there until in 1900 Sharpe allowed Booth to return subject to a promise not to take part in political activities.
This set-back prompted Booth to leave Nyasaland for South Africa in 1901. After becoming a Seventh-day Adventist in Cape Town in 1902, Booth went to the United States and convinced the Seventh-day Adventist church of Plainfield, New Jersey to fund the establishment of a mission near Blantyre. This mission, originally called Plainfield mission and later renamed Malamulo, was on the site of the Seventh Day Baptist mission established by Booth, which the Seventh-day Adventists purchased. Booth's stay with the Seventh-day Adventists at Malamulo mission ended after six months, as his colleagues did not accept his radical views, and criticised him for their political implications.
Leaving Nyasaland.
Booth left Nyasaland for the last time in 1902, travelling first to Durban, which he left in February 1903, to travel to Britain. Booth was officially barred from returning to the Nyasaland in 1907.
Later career.
Changing denominations.
Booth remained in Britain until late 1906, as the Adventists were unwilling to send him back to Africa and the Church of Christ turned him down as a missionary because his political views were too radical. While in Scotland in 1906, Booth became familiar with the writings of Charles Taze Russell, a prominent Christian restorationist columnist and founder of the Bible Student movement, later known as the Watch Tower Society. In late 1906, journeyed to the United States and met Russell in New York. Russell's Watch Tower Society appointed Booth as a missionary
As Booth was banned from returning to Nyasaland, he went in 1907 to Cape Town, where he planned to train African evangelists to establish largely independent churches in their home areas that would be only loosely overseen by Booth and financed from America. Booth again met Elliot Kamwana, who was living in South Africa, in Cape Town in 1907, and instructed him in a mixture of Booth's sabbatarian beliefs and Watch Tower Society doctrines in preparation for Kamwana's missionary work in Nyasaland. Between 1906 and 1909, he brought at least seven trainee evangelists from northern Nyasaland. Booth instructed them for periods of four to eight months and taught them a mixture of his own sabbatarian beliefs and Watch Tower Society doctrines. Upon their return to Nyasaland, Booth's own role was limited to sending them monthly payments and bibles and other literature provided by the Watch Tower Society . Booth preached his doctrine of Africa for the Africans in public in Cape Town, which gained him some notoriety. He combined Watch Tower millennialism with an insistence on the seventh day: this ultimately led to his expulsion from the Watch Tower Society in late 1909, after Russell had tried to convince Booth to stop his seventh-day preaching.
Disciples in Nyasaland.
Before his break with the Watch Tower Society, Booth had directed Kamwana to return to Nkhata Bay in Nyasaland where he baptised and converted about ten thousand people to the Watchtower movement, which combined Watch Tower Society teaching, sabbatarian practices and addressing his audiences' concerns about witchcraft, in a few months in late 1908 and early 1909. These activities led to his deportation. The other evangelists generally returned in 1909 and 1910, initially to set up Watchtower congregations but, after an inspection visit by an American Watch Tower Society official in 1910 considered their sabbatarian practices unacceptable, they formed an independent Seventh-day Baptist church, which Booth supported financially and with Adventist books. Other sections of the indigenous Watchtower movement after the 1910 split became the Watchtower movement in Central Africa, now known as "Waticitawala" or "Kitawala" (a local term for "Tower") in Congo.
Another disciple of Booth based in Nyasaland, Charles Domingo, who was educated at the Livingstonia mission but left in 1908 when he was refused ordination. He joined Watch Tower in 1908 and received funding for his activities from Booth until Booth was deported in 1909, and he became a Seventh-day Baptist in 1910. Joseph Booth and Charles Domingo edited a periodical, the "African Sabbath Recorder", for Seventh Day Baptists in 1911 and 1912, issues of which can now be viewed at the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Library and Archives in Janesville, Wisconsin and at the Library of the University of Malawi in Zomba.
Booth predicted that by 1914 Europeans no longer would rule Africa, but that there would be democracy, African self-rule and unity with American Blacks. These teachings, his criticism of taxation, and the suspicion of Booth because his associate, Elliot Kamwana, had been arrested and deported from Nyasaland, led to his deportation from the Transvaal in mid-1909, although he was able to remain in the British-ruled parts of South Africa, living firstly in Cape Town and from 1914 in Basutoland where he was a Seventh-day Baptist missionary.
Referring to Booth and his African associate Elliot Kamwana, a 1976 Watch Tower publication noted, "they never became Bible Students or Jehovah's Christian witnesses. Their relationship with the Watch Tower Society was short and superficial." Booth's teachings included advocating for social change, in contradiction to the Watch Tower literature he distributed. Particularly in the case of Booth, who had a three-year association with, was appointed as a missionary by and financed by, Watch Tower, these comments appears disingenuous and misleading.
Deportation and later years.
In 1915, Booth produced a British African Congress petition, demanding that educated Africans should have the same political rights as Europeans, and was again deported from South Africa in October 1915. Over the next few years in England, he was involved in pacifist protest against the First World War.
He was allowed to return to South Africa in 1919, to live in the house his younger daughter, Mary Winifred Booth Sales, had built some considerable distance from Cape Town, which discouraged him from any active involvement in African affairs. Booth's second wife died there in 1921, and he married his third wife, Lillian in May 1924 when he was 73 and she was about 49. Booth and his third wife later returned to England because of his ill health and because Booth's contacts with Africans were attracting the attention of the authorities.
Booth remained in England, suffering periodic illness, until he died on 4 November 1932 at the age of 82 at his home in Weston super Mare. His death certificate gives the cause of death as carcinoma of the stomach. He was buried at Milton Cemetery in Lower Weston super Mare, where his third wife, Lilian, was buried with him twenty years later in 1952.
His elder daughters, Emily Booth Langworthy, would write in 1952 of their experiences in Africa in her memoir "This Africa was Mine".


List of colonial governors of Ivory Coast

List of the colonial governors of French Ivory Coast−"Côte d'Ivoire", a colony in former French West Africa.


Bir I of Kanem

Sultan Biri Ibn Dunama was the son of Mai Dunama I, and Fasam from the Kayi ethnic group. Sultan Biri reigned as the king of Kanem, in the early stages of the Kanem Empire
He was once constricted by his mother for executing a thief.


List of decommissioned ships of the South African Navy

The following is a list of decommissioned ships of the South African Navy.
Pennant Numbers.
South African Navy used the below pennant number prefix designations:
Mine laying and anti-mine vessels.
Mine layers.
Controlled Minelayers: Displacement 926 tons. Length 160' with Compound Uniflow Lentz valve motors.
Anti-submarine.
Corvettes.
Ordered from France in 1976, but the sale was blocked in 1977 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 418 after official naming, but before they could be delivered or commissioned.
Defence vessels.
Boom defence vessels.
Boom defence vessels were used to maintain anti-submarine nets and anti-torpedo nets around ports, anchorages and individual ships. Royal Navy "Bar" class.
Harbour defence motor launches.
HDML 1100-1200 Series were South African built harbour defence motor launches. Length of 72' propelled by 2x Gardiner 8-cylinder diesel engines providing 130 BHP with cruising speed of 11 kts.


Elizabeth Nantale Mulondo

Nantale Elizabeth (born 31 January 1989) is a princess in the Kingdom of Buganda, a historic kingdom in modern-day Uganda. She is the granddaughter of Daudi Chwa II of Buganda.
Early life.
Nantale was born in Nairobi in 1989 to the late Prince Fredrick David Mulondo, son of Prince George William Mawanda chwa, a son to Daudi Chwa II. Prince George William represented Uganda at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the only Ugandan to be made an honorary member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lords cricket ground, which prompted him to start and campaign for the African Cricket club. Elizabeth has six brothers and is the family's only girl.
Elizabeth attended Lohana Academy Primary School, in Kololo, Buganda Road High School and Winston Standard Academy. After graduating from secondary school, she earned an associate degree, with honors from Makerere University, a Bachelor of Arts degree from IATA institute, in airline ticketing and reservations and an associate degree with Distinction in Cosmetology.
Personal life.
Elizabeth is into fashion, modelling and showbiz. She featured on the "Floss" magazine front page in 2008 as a model. She often attends fashion shows in Uganda and South Africa and White party in Dubai.
In 2013 and 2014, Nantale attracted media attention when she was spotted with one of Kampala's tycoons Dick Kizito who is always involved in scandals. Their frequent meetings in which she was provocatively dressed aroused criticism from her family and the public. This prompted her to confront the media and claim that her ex-boyfriend had hired photographers to take embarrassing photos of her. The two eventually reconciled. She is dalways among the Buganda royal family at Kabaka's birthday parties.


Aliyu Obaje

Aliyu Ocheja Obaje GCFR (1920 – July 16, 2012) was the 26th Attah Igala (paramount ruler) of the Igala Kingdom in Nigeria. Obaje reigned for 56 years making him one of the longest serving monarch in Nigeria's history.
Life and kingship.
Born in 1920, Aliyu Obaje was the youngest person to be installed as Attah Igala; he mounted the stool at the age of 36 on November 2, 1956 following the death of his predecessor Ameh Oboni. Obaje ruled for 52 years before he died at the age of 102. The Attah's palace (the seat of power in the Igala Kingdom) is located in the ancient city of Idah.
He was one of the longest-serving monarch in Nigeria. He has conferred on a large population of the Igala people traditional chieftaincy titles, including the title of Agenyi-Attah of Igala Kingdom, bestowed on Chief Ogwu J. Onoja, SAN. Aliyu Obaje was the chairman of the Kogi State council of Traditional chiefs. He held the Nigerian national honour of GCFR (Grand Commander of the Federal Republic).
Demise.
He died on July 16, 2012.


Bigo bya Mugenyi

Bigo bya Mugenyi, also Bigo, is an extensive alignment of ditches and berms comprising ancient earthworks located in the interlacustrine region of southwestern Uganda. Situated on the southern shore of the Katonga River, Bigo is best described as having two elements. The first consists of a long, irregular ditch and bank alignment with multiple openings that effectively creates an outer boundary by connecting to the Kotanga River in the east and the Kakinga swamp to the west. Toward its eastern end the outer ditch branches further to the east to encompass a nearby crossing of the Katonga River. The second element consists of a central, interconnected group of four irregularly shaped ditch and bank enclosures that are connected to the Katonga River by a single ditch. Three mounds are associated with the central enclosures; two within and one immediately to the west. When combined, the Bigo earthworks extend for more than 10 kilometers. Resulting from radiometric dates collected from archaeological investigations conducted in 1960 and additional investigations undertaken at the Mansa earthworks site in 1988, 1994, and 1995, the Bigo earthworks have been dated to roughly AD 1300-1500, and have been called Uganda's "largest and most important ancient monument."
Investigations.
Bigo was first documented in 1909; initially by Colonial District Commissioner D. L. Baines and then followed by Major C. R. Hall who also completed the first map of the earthworks. A more comprehensive map of the earthworks was completed for the Uganda Protectorate Geological Survey by A. D. Combe in 1921. Following this, P. L. Shinnie excavated a series of trenches at Bigo in 1957 in order to investigate the purported connections between Bigo and Bacwezi legends as well as to identify the material culture of the people who built the earthworks.
In the fall of 1960, M. Posnansky conducted further investigations at Bigo with the intent to "make as complete a survey as possible ... to establish the cultural sequence [of the site] and to obtain charcoal samples for Carbon 14 dating." During his investigation of Bigo, Posnansky spent over 7 weeks excavating more than 20 trenches (with a total volume of 781 cubic feet) at four locations (three within the main enclosure area and one at the outer ditch). From these trenches Posnansky prepared sidewall illustrations characterizing the site's soils and exposing the construction history of the mounds and ditches. Also recovered from the trenches were four charcoal samples that were submitted for radiometric dating and over 4,200 pottery sherds.
Layout.
Bigo is situated on the south shore of the Katonga River and is composed of an arcing, branched ditch and bank alignment encompassing both a smaller collection of enclosure as well as a crossing of the Katonga River.The outer ditches have a maximum width of more than 10 meters, range in depth from 1.5 to 4 meters, and altogether, contain approximately 20 breaks. Combined, the outer ditches run for more than 6 kilometers and encompass over 300 hectares with topography ranging from lowlands to a hilly area rising more than 4,000 feet.
Situated on high ground within the outer boundary are four connected enclosures (1-4). Enclosures 1 and 2 are the largest of the group and share a northwest-southeast aligned ditch having two openings and that is only partially banked on the north side. Enclosures 3 and 4 are smaller and connected to the eastern ends of 1 and 2 (respectively) with a single opening between the large and small enclosures. Enclosures 1, 2, and 4 each have two external openings, while enclosure 3 only has one external opening. When measured from the base of the ditch to the top of the adjacent bank, the inner enclosures measure from 4 to 7 meters high. Three mounds, ranging from 2 to 3 meters tall, are found within (Mounds I and II) and adjacent to Enclosure 2 (Mound III). Of note, Mound III is positioned such that the western ditch of Enclosure 2 was constructed to avoid it. The lack of an embankment for much of the ditch between Enclosures 1 and 2 suggests the upcast soil was used to create one or more of the mounds.
A single ditch and bank originating at the northwest corner of Enclosure 2 runs in a northeasterly direction and terminates at the Katonga River.
Function.
Beginning in the colonial period when they were first discovered by Europeans and continuing through to the 1960s, the Bigo earthworks have been interpreted as defensive fortifications constructed to protect from invasion; however this interpretation most likely resulted from the experiences of war stemming from the Bunyoro-Buganda conflicts of the 1800s, British forts constructed elsewhere in western Uganda, and World War I. This functional interpretation was also supported by Bunyoro oral tradition from the colonial period in which claims were made that the Bacwezi and Babito dynasties invaded the region from the north. A number of factors contradict the interpretation that the earthworks were constructed to protect from human invaders, foremost among them is the fact that the overall great length of the outer ditch system is such that it would be logistically impossible to guard. Rather than protect from human invaders, it has been suggested that Bigo's outer earthworks were constructed to keep elephants from damaging agricultural crops, while the central earthworks were constructed to protect the site's rulers from attack, while serving as places where trade goods were redistributed, as well as being demonstrations of organizational skills and having a symbolic function related to the power associated with those who lived within the earthworks.
Artifacts.
The 1960 excavations at Bigo recovered more than 4,200 pottery sherds from both jars and pots, as well as six hearth kerbs, one pottery bead, and iron artifacts consisting of a tanged arrowhead, part of a bracelet, a spear ferrule, and a broken knife most likely used for reaping grain. The pottery is noteworthy for decorative styling consisting of knotted grass roulette band on or just below the rims while some vessels were also painted using a red ochre slip. The pottery vessels predominantly consisted of coarse ware with fewer examples of fine ware recovered.


History of the Comoros

The history of the Comoros extends to about 1000 BC when the archipelago was first inhabited. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975.
Early inhabitants.
The earliest inhabitants of the islands were likely people from the Swahili culture from as early as 1000 BC, small trading communities of Bantu-speakers from the coasts of East Africa.
In the 8th to 13th centuries AD they were followed by an influx of Austronesian sailors from Southeast Asia, who had earlier settled nearby Madagascar. They are the source for the earliest archeological evidence of farming in the islands. Crops from archeological sites in Sima are predominantly rice strains of both "indica" and "japonica" varieties from Southeast Asia, as well as various other Asian crops like mung bean and cotton. Only a minority of the examined crops were African-derived, like finger millet, African sorghum, and cowpea. The Comoros are believed to be the first site of contact and subsequent admixture between African and Asian populations (earlier than Madagascar). Comorians today still display at most 20% Austronesian admixture.
From around the 15th century AD, Shirazi slave traders established trading ports and brought in slaves from the mainland. In the 16th century, social changes on the East African coast probably linked to the arrival of the Portuguese saw the arrival of a number of Arabs of Hadrami who established alliances with the Shirazis and founded several royal clans.
Over the centuries, the Comoros have been settled by a succession of diverse groups from the coast of Africa, the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia and Madagascar.
Europeans.
Portuguese explorers first visited the archipelago in 1505.
Apart from a visit by the French Parmentier brothers in 1529, for much of the 16th century the only Europeans to visit the islands were Portuguese. British and Dutch ships began arriving around the start of the 17th century and the island of Ndzwani soon became a major supply point on the route to the East Indies. Ndzwani was generally ruled by a single sultan, who occasionally attempted to extend his authority to Mayotte and Mwali; Ngazidja was more fragmented, on occasion being divided into as many as 12 small kingdoms.
Sir James Lancaster's voyage to the Indian Ocean in 1591 was the first attempt by the English to break into the spice trade, which was dominated by the Portuguese. Only one of his four ships made it back from the Indies on that voyage, and that one with a decimated crew of 5 men and a boy. Lancaster himself was marooned by a cyclone on the Comoros. Many of his crew were speared to death by angry islanders although Lancaster found his way home in 1594. (Dalrymple W. 2019; Bloomsbury Publishing ).
Both the British and the French turned their attention to the Comoros islands in the middle of the 19th century. The French finally acquired the islands through a cunning mixture of strategies, including the policy of "divide and conquer", chequebook politics and a serendipitous affair between a sultana and a French trader that was put to good use by the French, who kept control of the islands, quelling unrest and the occasional uprising.
William Sunley, a planter and British Consul from 1848–1866, was an influence on Anjouan.
French Comoros.
France's presence in the western Indian Ocean dates to the early seventeenth century. The French established a settlement in southern Madagascar in 1634 and occupied the islands of Reunion and Rodrigues; in 1715 France claimed Mauritius (Ile de France), and in 1756 Seychelles. When France ceded Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Seychelles to Britain in 1814, it lost its Indian Ocean ports; Reunion, which remained French, did not offer a suitable natural harbor. In 1840 France acquired the island of Nosy-Be off the northwestern coast of Madagascar, but its potential as a port was limited. In 1841 the governor of Reunion, Admiral de Hell, negotiated with Andrian Souli, the Malagasy ruler of Mayotte, to cede Mayotte to France. Mahore offered a suitable site for port facilities, and its acquisition was justified by de Hell on the grounds that if France did not act, Britain would occupy the island.
Although France had established a foothold in Comoros, the acquisition of the other islands proceeded fitfully. At times the French were spurred on by the threat of British intervention, especially on Nzwani, and at other times, by the constant anarchy resulting from the sultans' wars upon each other. In the 1880s, Germany's growing influence on the East African coast added to the concerns of the French. Not until 1908, however, did the four Comoro Islands become part of France's colony of Madagascar and not until 1912 did the last sultan abdicate. Then, a colonial administration took over the islands and established a capital at Dzaoudzi on Mahore. Treaties of protectorate status marked a transition point between independence and annexation; such treaties were signed with the rulers of Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mwali in 1886.
The effects of French colonialism were mixed, at best. Colonial rule brought an end to the institution of slavery, but economic and social differences between former slaves and free persons and their descendants persisted. Health standards improved with the introduction of modern medicine, and the population increased about 50 percent between 1900 and 1960. France continued to dominate the economy. Food crop cultivation was neglected as French societes (companies) established cash crop plantations in the coastal regions. The result was an economy dependent on the exporting of vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, cocoa, copra, and other tropical crops. Most profits obtained from exports were diverted to France
rather than invested in the infrastructure of the islands. Development was further limited by the colonial government's practice of concentrating public services on Madagascar. One consequence of this policy was the migration of large numbers of Comorans to Madagascar, where their presence would be a long-term source of tension between Comoros and its giant island neighbor. The Shirazi elite continued to play a prominent role as large landowners and civil servants. On the eve of independence, Comoros remained poor and undeveloped,
having only one secondary school and practically nothing in the way of national media. Isolated from important trade routes by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, having few natural resources, and largely neglected by France, the islands were poorly equipped for independence.
In 1946 the Comoro Islands became an overseas department of France with representation in the French National Assembly. The following year, the islands' administrative ties to Madagascar were severed; Comoros established its own customs regime in 1952. A Governing Council was elected in August 1957 on the four islands in conformity with the loi-cadre (enabling law) of June 23, 1956. A constitution providing for internal self-government was promulgated in 1961, following a 1958 referendum in which Comorans voted overwhelmingly to
remain a part of France. This government consisted of a territorial assembly having, in 1975, thirty-nine members, and a Governing Council of six to nine ministers responsible to it.
Agreement was reached with France in 1973 for the Comoros to become independent in 1978. On July 6, 1975, however, the Comorian parliament passed a resolution declaring unilateral independence. The deputies of Mayotte abstained.
In 1961 the Comoros was granted autonomous rule and, in 1975, it broke all ties with France and established itself as an independent republic. From the very beginning Mayotte refused to join the new republic and aligned itself even more firmly to the French Republic, but the other islands remained committed to independence. The first president of the Comoros, Ahmed Abdallah Abderemane, did not last long before being ousted in a coup d'état by Ali Soilih, an atheist with an Islamic background.
Soilih began with a set of solid socialist ideals designed to modernize the country. However, the regime faced problems. A French mercenary by the name of Bob Denard, arrived in the Comoros at dawn on 13 May 1978, and removed Soilih from power. Solih was shot and killed during the coup. Abdallah returned to govern the country and the mercenaries were given key positions in government.
In two referendums, in December 1974 and February 1976, the population of Mayotte voted against independence from France (by 63.8% and 99.4% respectively). Mayotte thus remains under French administration, and the Comorian Government has effective control over only Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli.
Later, French settlers, French-owned companies, and Arab merchants established a plantation-based economy that now uses about one-third of the land for export crops.
Abdallah regime.
In 1978, president Ali Soilih, who had a firm anti-French line, was killed and Ahmed Abdallah came to power. Under the reign of Abdallah, Denard was commander of the Presidential Guard (PG) and "de facto" ruler of the country. He was trained, supported and funded by the white regimes in South Africa (SA) and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in return for permission to set up a secret listening post on the islands. South-African agents kept an ear on the important ANC bases in Lusaka and Dar es Salaam and watched the war in Mozambique, in which SA played an active role. The Comoros were also used for the evasion of arms sanctions.
When in 1981 François Mitterrand was elected president Denard lost the support of the French intelligence service, but he managed to strengthen the link between SA and the Comoros. Besides the military, Denard established his own company SOGECOM, for both the security and construction, and seemed to profit by the arrangement. Between 1985 and 1987 the relationship of the PG with the local Comorians became worse.
At the end of the 1980s the South Africans did not wish to continue to support the mercenary regime and France was in agreement. Also President Abdallah wanted the mercenaries to leave. Their response was a (third) coup resulting in the death of President Abdallah, in which Denard and his men were probably involved. South Africa and the French government subsequently forced Denard and his mercenaries to leave the islands in 1989.
1989-1996.
Said Mohamed Djohar became president. His time in office was turbulent, including an impeachment attempt in 1991 and a coup attempt in 1992.
On September 28, 1995 Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries took over the Comoros islands in a coup (named operation Kaskari by the mercenaries) against President Djohar. France immediately and severely denounced the coup, and backed by the 1978 defense agreement with the Comoros, President Jacques Chirac ordered his special forces to retake the island. Bob Denard began to take measures to stop the coming invasion. A new presidential guard was created. Strong points armed with heavy machine guns were set up around the island, particularly around the island's two airports.
On October 3, 1995, 11 p.m., the French deployed 600 men against a force of 33 mercenaries and a 300-man dissident force. Denard however ordered his mercenaries not to fight. Within 7 hours the airports at Iconi and Hahaya and the French Embassy in Moroni were secured. By 3:00 p.m. the next day Bob Denard and his mercenaries had surrendered. This (response) operation, codenamed "Azalée", was remarkable, because there were no casualties, and just in seven days, plans were drawn up and soldiers were deployed. Denard was taken to France and jailed. Prime minister Caambi El-Yachourtu became acting president until Djohar returned from exile in January, 1996. In March 1996, following presidential elections, Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim, a member of the civilian government that Denard had tried to set up in October 1995, became president. On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crashed near a beach on the island after it was hijacked and ran out of fuel killing 125 people and leaving 50 survivors.
Secession of Anjouan and Mohéli.
In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Mohéli declared their independence from the Comoros. A subsequent attempt by the government to re-establish control over the rebellious islands by force failed, and presently the African Union is brokering negotiations to effect a reconciliation. This process is largely complete, at least in theory. According to some sources, Mohéli did return to government control in 1998. In 1999, Anjouan had internal conflicts and on August 1 of that year, the 80-year-old first president Foundi Abdallah Ibrahim resigned, transferring power to a national coordinator, Said Abeid. The government was overthrown in a coup by army and navy officers on August 9, 2001. Mohamed Bacar soon rose to leadership of the junta that took over and by the end of the month he was the leader of the country. Despite two coup attempts in the following three months, including one by Abeid, Bacar's government remained in power, and was apparently more willing to negotiate with the Comoros. Presidential elections were held for all of the Comoros in 2002, and presidents have been chosen for all three islands as well, which have become a confederation. Most notably, Mohammed Bacar was elected for a 5-year term as president of Anjouan. Grande Comore had experienced troubles of its own in the late 1990s, when President Taki died on November 6, 1998. Colonel Azali Assoumani became president following a military coup in 1999. There have been several coup attempts since, but he gained firm control of the country after stepping down temporarily and winning a presidential election in 2002.
In May 2006, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi was elected from the island of Anjouan to be the president of the Union of the Comoros. He is a well-respected Sunni cleric who studied in the Sudan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. He is respectfully called "Ayatollah" by his supporters but is considered, and is, a moderate Islamist. He has been quoted as stating that the Comoros is not ready to become an Islamic state, nor shall the veil be forced upon any women in the Comoros.
Azali Assoumani in power since 2016.
Azali Assoumani is a former army officer, first came to power in a coup in 1999. Then he won presidency in 2002 election, having power until 2006. After ten years, he was elected again in 2016 election. In March 2019, he was re-elected in the elections opposition claimed to be full of irregularities.
Before the 2019 presidential election president Azali Assoumani had arrenged a constututional referendum in 2018 that approved extending the presidential mandate from one five-year term to two. The oposition had boycotted the referendum.
In January 2020, his party The Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros (CRC) won 17 out of 24 parliamentary seats in the parliamentary election, meaning president Azali had a very tight hold on power.


Umaru Nagwamatse

Umaru Nagwamatse Dan Abu Bakar (18061876) was a prince (Nigerian Traditional Ruler) from the Sokoto Caliphate (known as "Sarkin Sudan") and the founder of Kontagora Emirate.
Life.
Nagwamatse founded the Kontagora Emirate in the year 1864. He became the ruler of the Emirate with his two sons; Modibo and Ibrahim. He was commonly known as "Sarkin Sudan", which translates to "King of Blacks" and was the first of the Sokoto Fulani ruling house in the Northern region of Nigeria to become king. Nagwamatse was the tenth son of Sultan Abubakar Atiku, from the Dan Fodio ruling house of Sokoto.
Rijiyar Nagwamatse.
The Legend of Rijiyar Nagwamatse states that while the Prince Umaru Nagwamatse was resting beneath a tree in Kontagora, he scratched the earth with his finger, causing water to gush forth miraculously. This led to the birth of the Rijiyar Nagwamatse, and the Nagwamatse well remains a watering spot to this day. The Prince also performed ablution for "Salat Asr" (Islamic Prayer) at this particular site, because the Kingdom lacked drinking water.
Although the Kambari people inhabited the whole of the Kingdom at that time, it is still claimed by the Niger State. In the early 19th century, the Kambari people left the Kingdom because of a civil war in the Magna Kingdom. The ruling family of Umaru Nagwamatse now leads it.


Sebetwane

Sebetwane (between about 1790 and 1800 – July 7, 1851) was chief of the Patsa branch of the Bafokeng clan. He established the large and powerful Makololo nation in what is now southwestern Zambia after an arduous migration of over 1200 kilometres from the clan's ancestral lands, near modern day Biddulphsberg, in the Free State province of South Africa.
Names.
King's names also can be written as Sebitwane or Sibutuane. In isizulu he is called sibidwane.
Biography.
In the early 1820s Sebetwane was the Chief of a small Sotho group known as the Bafokeng-ba-ha-Patsa. Facing constant attacks and losing all their cattle during the early years of the Mfecane, Sebetwane urged his people to leave their homeland:
"My masters, you see that the world is collapsing. We shall be eaten up one by one. Our fathers taught us peace means prosperity, but today there is no peace, no prosperity! Let us march!"
In 1823 they moved north near what is now the southern borders of Botswana, attacking a number of other societies and incorporating their younger members. These attacks were largely successful for three years, and the Kololo increased their population and cattle wealth. Pushed north by the advancing Ndebele, the Kololo suffered a catastrophic defeat at Dithubaruba in 1826 to a coalition of forces headed by the Ngwaketse chief Sebego I. Following this defeat they moved north-east, but continuing warfare there eventually pushed them towards the Okavango Delta in 1834. Once in the area, Sebetwane's heir was killed, although in 1835 Sebetwane won a major victory over the Batawana and controlled the area for a few years before striking north again around 1840.
After briefly settling near the Victoria Falls, in 1838 Sebetwane passed the Zambesi River and conquered the Lozi's kingdom. He was both able to conciliate Makololo and Lozi and repel two attacks brought against him by Mzilikazi, king of the Ndebele. He died on July 7, 1851, shortly after meeting at Linyati, his capital, the missionary explorer David Livingstone, with whom he developed a warm friendship.
Personality.
Distinguished as both a warrior and a statesman, Sebetwane was able to consolidate his military gains by his generous and just treatment of the conquered peoples. Even those who had been conquered by him and eventually fled his kingdom maintained that he was an extremely warm leader: Sebetwane "loved people very much even if they were his victims."
Family.
Sebetwane had a wife named Setlutlu. His oldest son, Kgwaanyane, was his favorite and was pampered. Carried around the Kalahari in a litter, he was sheltered from battle but eventually was killed in an ambush by the Herero. He was succeeded by his daughter Mamochisane, who soon stepped down in favour of her half-brother Sekeletu. He also had a son named Mpepe, who was an enemy of Sekeletu, and grandson called Litali.
His brother Mbololo later became a king of makololo


Bakili Muluzi

Elson Bakili Muluzi (born March 17, 1943 in Machinga, Nyasaland) is a Malawian politician who was the first freely elected President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded Hastings Kamuzu Banda as Malawi's president. He also served in Banda's cabinet as Minister without Portfolio, before retiring in 1980.
Presidency.
Muluzi was the candidate of the opposition UDF in the May 1994 presidential election, the country's first multiparty election. He won the election with 47% of the vote, defeating Malawi's leader since independence, Hastings Kamuzu Banda. There was no provision for a runoff election in Malawi, so this was enough for him to end Banda's 33-year rule (dating back to when Malawi was still a British colony).
He was re-elected in June 1999, taking 52.4% of the vote and defeating challenger Gwanda Chakuamba who was the leader of the opposition movement. In 2002 he proposed an amendment to Malawi's constitution that would have allowed him to run for a third term, but this was abandoned in the face of demonstrations against him, as well as vigorous opposition from the legislature and courts. After serving two terms, he therefore handed over power to his successor after the May 2004 election, in which UDF candidate Bingu wa Mutharika (who was handpicked and groomed by Muluzi) was elected to succeed Muluzi as President.
Muluzi came to lead the UDF after leaving the Banda government, and he became an advocate for democracy. Muluzi's time as President was marred by controversy and scandal, particularly due to the sale of Malawi's reserves of maize to other countries shortly before the onset of a drought, which resulted in famine throughout the country. Despite international pressure, the millions of dollars realized from the sale of Malawi's food reserves have never been turned over, and it is widely suspected that it wound up in foreign accounts belonging to Muluzi and his supporters.
Post-presidency.
Even with the controversy and questionable dealings, Muluzi was a popular leader, particularly in the southern part of the country. He remained the Chairman of the UDF. After a dispute with his successor as President, Mutharika, the latter left the UDF and formed his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), in February 2005. In April 2005, Muluzi apologized to Malawians for choosing Mutharika as his successor "and imposing him on the country".
On July 27, 2006, Muluzi was arrested on fraud and corruption charges; he was released on bail later that day. Hours after his arrest, the chief investigator Gustav Kaliwo was suspended by President Mutharika; Director of Public Prosecutions Ishmael Wadi said he had no choice but to drop the charges. Muluzi was once more arrested on 26 February 2009 and initially charged with 86 counts of corruption and abuse of office. The charges claimed that he had allegedly diverted 1.7 billion Malawi Kwacha (US$11m) of donor money into his personal account, funds that came from, among others, the Republic of China, the Kingdom of Morocco and Libya.
As a former Commonwealth leader, Muluzi was invited by the Commonwealth Secretary-General to Chair the Commonwealth Observer Group which observed the 2012 general election in Lesotho.
2009 presidential candidacy.
In early March 2007, with many prominent members of the UDF calling for Muluzi to run for president in 2009, the party said that he would have until March 11 to declare whether he intended to run. Accordingly, on that date Muluzi announced that he would seek the party's nomination as its presidential candidate. The question of whether Muluzi is eligible to run again has raised some controversy. Because the constitution refers to a limit of two consecutive terms, this could be regarded as enabling Muluzi to run again after being out of office for a term.
The Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Alex Nampota, announced on March 17, 2008 that the ACB intended to prosecute Muluzi for allegedly diverting about 11 million dollars of donor money into his personal account; Nampota said that the ACB had asked the courts to lift an injunction that prevented it from questioning Muluzi. Kennedy Makwangwala, the Secretary-General of the UDF, denounced this as "political persecution".
On April 24, 2008, a UDF convention chose Muluzi as the party's 2009 presidential candidate. He received 1,950 votes against 38 for Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha.
On March 20, 2009 the Malawi Electoral Commission passed a judgement to bar Bakili Muluzi from running for the presidency for the third time. Muluzi challenged this, but on May 16, only three days before the election, the Constitutional Court ruled that Muluzi could not run again. By that point, Muluzi and the UDF had thrown their support behind the candidacy of John Tembo, the President of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
Muluzi announced on December 23, 2009, that he was retiring from active politics and that Friday Jumbe was replacing him as UDF leader.
2008 arrest.
After Mutharika formed the DPP in 2005, over 70 Members of Parliament joined the DPP; the opposition, including the UDF, has sought to have these MPs expelled from their seats for switching parties. In May 2008, Mutharika said that Muluzi was trying to remove him from office by depriving the DPP MPs of their seats; to press its demand for the removal of the DPP MPs, the opposition had refused to debate any government bills. Mutharika called Muluzi a "coward" and accused him of treason. Speaking on Joy Radio, a station he owns, on May 12, 2008, Muluzi denied any plot against Mutharika and expressed exasperation with threats made by Mutharika.
Eight prominent associates of Muluzi were arrested shortly afterward in connection with the alleged plot to overthrow Mutharika; an arrest warrant was also issued for Muluzi, who was in the United Kingdom at the time on holiday. In connection with the investigation into this alleged plot, police attempted to search Muluzi's home on May 14, but his guards barred them from entry. According to an aide to Muluzi, Humphrey Mvula, the police said that they wanted to remove guns from the home, but Mvula said that these guns had been issued by the police themselves for Muluzi's protection. On the same day, Muluzi said on Joy Radio that he would return to Malawi from the United Kingdom regardless of the alleged plot. By May 25, all but one of the eight arrested associates of Muluzi had been released on bail.
When Muluzi returned on May 25, 2008, he was arrested at the airport in Lilongwe. Muluzi had planned to address a UDF rally upon his arrival, and police surrounded the stadium where the rally was to be held. Thousands of infuriated supporters of Muluzi clashed with the police and blocked roads following his arrest. Muluzi was promptly flown to Blantyre, placed under house arrest at his home in Limbe, near Blantyre, and interrogated. His home was also searched by the police. Muluzi was questioned for about two hours and was shown documents which purportedly linked him to the alleged plot. Speaking on Joy Radio on May 27, Muluzi said that the documents were "laughable and fake" and accused the government of attempting to "intimidate and silence the opposition". His lawyers said on the same day that they would seek bail for Muluzi. According to one lawyer, the only people allowed into Muluzi's home by the police were four lawyers and a bodyguard, and he had been asked to name family members and lawyers who would be given permission to visit.
On May 29, Muluzi, who had still not been charged, appeared at the High Court in Blantyre for his bail application. On his arrival, he declared that the government was "useless". Fahad Assani, the head of Muluzi's legal team, described the arrest as "illegal and unconstitutional" and demanded his release from house arrest. According to Assani, because more than 48 hours had passed and Muluzi had not been charged, it was necessary for him to be released "without any conditions". Wezi Kayira, the Director of Public Prosecutions, urged the court to reject the bail application, stressing that treason was "a very serious offence which carries a heavy penalty"; he said that investigations were continuing and expressed concern that they "would be jeopardised and evidence tampered with". Kayira also requested that the court impose "very strict conditions" if it chose to grant bail.
Judge Joseph Manyumgwa granted Muluzi bail on May 30, saying that in the absence of any charges against Muluzi he had to be released. According to Manyumgwa, Muluzi had the right to bail regardless of "the gravity of the alleged offence". Kayira said the investigation was ongoing and that charges would follow.
Allegations of intimidation and 2009 legal charges.
Speaking to Capital Radio on 22 February 2009, Muluzi accused the government of using intimidation against his presidential candidacy and warned that such conduct could lead to "problems". A few days later, he was charged by the Anti-Corruption Bureau with stealing 12 million dollars of aid money; he appeared before a court in Blantyre and was released on bail. He appeared in court again on 12 March 2009 but failed to enter a plea on the 86 graft charges against him. Kalekeni Kaphale, a lawyer for Muluzi, asked for a delay, arguing that "this is the first time someone has been charged with such a volume of cases" in Malawi and that, since the defense had not seen the charges until early March, it needed "at least 14 days to study them to make proper responses".
On 10 July 2014, Muluzi was appointed as Special Commonwealth Envoy to Swaziland, an appointment endorsed by the President of Malawi,
Peter Mutharika.
Personal life.
Muluzi was Malawi's first Muslim President. He was married to, Annie Chidzira Muluzi and then Patricia Shanil Muluzi, while in office. After divorcing Annie Muluzi, he married Shanil Muluzi. His children include Austin Atupele Muluzi. He is father-in-law to Angela Zachepa.
Muluzi's first born daughter, Esme Atweni Muluzi, died after lightning struck her on December 12, 2016. She was pronounced dead in Mwaiwathu Private Hospital.


Head of the OCHA Office, Central African Republic

The Head of the OCHA Office in Central African Republic is the highest post in the tiny African country for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nevertheless a key post in light of the country's current humanitarian emergency.


Umar Ibn Muhammad of Borno

Shehu Umar Ibn Muhammad also known as Shehu Sanda Kyarimi, CBE, CMG, KBE, was Shehu of Dikwa between 1922 and 1937 and Shehu of Borno from 1937 to 1967.
Reign.
Shehu Umar Ibn Muhammad (son of Shehu Kyari of Borno) also known as Shehu Sanda Kyarimi, was Shehu of Dikwa between 1922 and 1937 and Shehu of Borno from 1937 to 1967. In 1955, he attended the great durbar in Kaduna during the visit of Elizabeth II. The same year, he went on pilgrimage to Mecca.
Decorations.
In 1943, he was appointed CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), on the nomination of Bernard Henry Bourdillon. In 1949, he was made CMG (Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George), on the recommendation of Commissioner Patterson. Finally, in 1960, the governor of Northern Nigeria, Gawain Bell recommended him for appointment as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, so that he became Sir Umar.
Bibliography.
Sheriff, Bosoma, Muhammad Fannami, and Abba Rufai Tijani, Functions of Shettima Kanuribe: Instances in the Shehu of Borno’s Palace (Maiduguri: Desktop Investment Ltd., 2011).


Olu Atogbuwa

Olu Atogbuwa was the 14th Olu of Warri who ruled over the Kingdom of Warri. He succeeded his father, Olu Akengboye as the 14th Olu of Warri. He took the title, Ogiame Atogbuwa. His Portuguese name was Manuel Octobia. When he went to be with his fathers, he was succeeded by Olu Erejuwa I around 1760.


Henry Hugh Clifford

Major General Sir Henry Hugh Clifford (12 September 1826 – 12 April 1883) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Early life.
Clifford was the third son of Hugh Clifford, 7th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, who died in 1858, by his marriage with Mary Lucy, only daughter of Thomas (afterwards Cardinal) Weld of Lulworth Castle, Dorsetshire. He was born on 12 September 1826 and received his first commission as a second lieutenant in The Rifle Brigade, on 7 August 1846.
He served in South Africa against the Gaikas under Sandili in the following year, and then against the Boers until their submission at Weinberg on the Vaal river. On the outbreak of another Kaffir war in 1852 he again went to Africa, where he remained until November 1853.
Crimean War and the Victoria Cross.
He took part in the Crimean war, where he received the appointment of aide-de-camp to Sir George Brown, commanding the light division, and was present at Alma and Inkerman, and for his gallantry in the latter battle was decorated with the Victoria Cross, by leading one of the charges, killing one of the enemy with his sword, disabling another and saving the life of a soldier (5 November 1854).
In May 1855, he was appointed deputy assistant quartermaster-general, and remaining in the Crimea until the conclusion of the war was then promoted to the rank of brevet major, and received the medal and clasps for Alma, Inkerman, and Sebastopol, and from foreign governments the Legion of Honour and the 5th class of the Medjidie.
Later career.
On the outbreak of hostilities in China he sailed thither, and as assistant quartermaster-general was present at the operations between December 1857 and January 1858 which resulted in the capture of Canton. For his services he received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel, with the China medal and Canton clasp.
On his return to England, he commenced a long term of service on the staff; he was assistant quartermaster-general at Aldershot 1860–4, held a similar appointment at headquarters 1865–1868, was aide-de-camp to the commander-in-chief 1870–3, and assistant adjutant-general at headquarters 1873–5. Early in 1879, Clifford was selected to proceed to South Africa to take charge of the communications of Lord Chelmsford between Durban and the forces in the field. His task was no light one, for great confusion prevailed at Durban, the port of disembarkation; but by his great experience in staff duties, his knowledge of the requirements of the supply of an army, and, above all, by his familiarity with native warfare and his indefatigable nature, he very soon reduced everything to order, and his labours were fully acknowledged by Sir Garnet Wolseley.
He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 2 June 1869, and a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 19 December 1879, and was granted a pension of £100 for distinguished services on 7 October 1874. He served as General Officer Commanding Eastern District of England from April to September 1882. He died at Ugbrooke, near Chudleigh in Devon on 12 April 1883.
Family.
He married, 21 March 1857 in Dublin, Josephine Elizabeth, the only surviving child of Joseph Anstice of Madeley Wood, Shropshire, a professor at King's College London. Their son was Sir Hugh Clifford. Lady Clifford died in 1913 at Hampton Court Palace presumably as grace and favour of her husband's service.


Malagasy Protectorate

The Malagasy Protectorate was a French protectorate in what is now Madagascar. Through the protectorate, France attempted to control the foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Imerina through its representative at Antananarivo. France declared the island a protectorate in 1882 after reaching an agreement with Britain, which had been the first European power to establish a lasting influence and presence on the island that dated back to the arrival of London Missionary Society missionaries around 1820; Britain agreed to sanction French claims to Madagascar in exchange for French recognition of its claims to Zanzibar. The French justified the establishment of a protectorate on the basis of land claims over outlying islands like Nosy Be and Nosy Boraha and a treaty signed with a local leader of the western coastal Sakalava people. It was further justified through documents signed by King Radama II, including a letter he was possibly tricked into signing that entreated Napoleon III to support a coup d'état against Ranavalona I, and land ownership agreements with French industrialist Joseph-François Lambert that were revoked upon Radama's assassination in 1863. It ended in 1897 as Madagascar became a French colony.
Successive sovereigns Ranavalona II and Ranavalona III and their Prime Minister, Rainilaiarivony, rejected the claim of French protectorate status and consistently refused to acknowledge the French representative or submit to the demands of the French, who attempted to impose control over Madagascar's foreign affairs and trade. The Malagasy government sent letters to foreign trade and diplomatic allies, including Britain and the United States, to request they advocate to France on behalf of Madagascar for continued Malagasy independence. France engaged Madagascar diplomatically and bombarded coastal cities in an attempt to enforce its claims, but Madagascar continued to govern its affairs with relatively little interference.
As a result, a French expeditionary force occupied Antananarivo in September 1895 and imprisoned the queen and prime minister. In January 1897 France declared Madagascar a French colony and deported the prime minister to Algeria, where he died shortly afterward. A civil governor was put in place and key opposition figures were imprisoned or executed. The queen was allowed to continue managing certain internal affairs as a figurehead. A popular resistance movement, called the "Menalamba" rebellion, arose in response to the perceived corruption and ineffectiveness of the monarchy, growing European presence and influence on the island, and the spread of Christianity. After violently quelling the rebellion in 1897, the French executed key members of the royal family and sent the queen into exile first in Réunion and later Algeria, where she died in 1917.


United Nations Security Council Resolution 404

United Nations Security Council Resolution 404, adopted on February 8, 1977, after hearing from a representative of Benin, the Council reaffirmed that States must refrain from threats and use of force in their international relations and decided to establish a Special Mission composed of three members of the Council to investigate the events of January 16, 1977 against the country. The findings of the report by the Special Mission were examined in Resolution 405.
The incident was brought to the attention of the Council by the People's Republic of Benin on January 26, 1977, after foreign mercenaries attacked the airport and the city of Cotonou but were later forced to retreat.
No details were of the voting were given, other than that it was adopted "by consensus".


National Museum of Tanzania

The National Museum of Tanzania is a consortium of five Tanzanian museums whose purpose is to preserve and show exhibits about the history and natural environment of Tanzania. The consortium developed from the National Museum of Dar es Salaam, established in 1934 by Tanganyika governor Harold MacMichael. Four more museums later joined the consortium, namely the Village Museum in Dar es Salaam, the National History Museum and the Arusha Declaration Museum in Arusha, and the Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere Memorial Museum in Butiama.
Dar es Salaam National Museum.
The Dar es Salaam National Museum is located in Shabban Robert Street, next to the botanical gardens. Established in 1934 and open to the public since 1940, it was originally a memorial museum dedicated to King George V; one of the cars of the King is still on display. The museum was expanded in 1963, with the addition of a second building. It is now dedicated to the history of Tanzania. Its most famous exhibits include some bones of "Paranthropus boisei" that were among the findings of Louis Leakey at Olduvai. The museum also has a large section dedicated to the Shirazi city-state of Kilwa. More historical miscellaneous material is related to the German and British rule, and ancient Chinese pottery. The museum also has ethnographic collections on Tanzanian cultures.
Village Museum.
The Kijiji cha Makumbusho, or Village Museum, established in 1967, is an open-air ethnographical museum located in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, on the road to Mwenge and Bagamoyo. It showcases traditional huts from 16 different Tanzanian ethnic groups. There are also examples of traditional cultivations, and traditional music and dance shows are held daily.
National Natural History Museum.
The National Natural History Museum in Arusha, open since 1987, is located in Arusha, in Boma Road. It has two permanent exhibits, respectively on human evolution and entomology.
Arusha Declaration Museum.
The Arusha Declaration Museum, open since 1977, is located in Arusha, in Kaloleni Road. It displays documents on the colonial history of Tanzania, the fight for independence, and the Arusha Declaration where the first Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere outlined his political vision.
Nyerere Museum.
The Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere Memorial Museum, or Nyerere Museum for short, was established in the year 1999. It is located in Butiama, where Tanzania's first president Julius Nyerere was born and was buried. The museum display items related to Nyerere's personal and political life.


Fanery

Fanery is the traditional money used in Madagascar. It exists in silver, copper, nickel and aluminium forms and are found in various sizes. Apart from being used as an instrument, Fanery was also used as jewellery and medication. Prior to 1895 there was no local currency, hence the inhabitants of Madagascar transformed the foreign coins into Fanery.
Definition.
The word "Fanery" has its origins in the local dialects spoken in Southern Madagascar.
These differ considerably from the official "Malagache" dialects spoken by the local tribesmen
Of Bara, Antanosy and Mahafaly. They exist in silver, copper, nickel and aluminium and are found in various sizes. Prior to French colonization, mining in Madagascar was non-existent.
As a result, metals of all kinds were in extremely short supply, and to manufacture Fanery the makers had to resort to melting the foreign coins (mostly French) that had been introduced into the territory over the previous 200 years.
History.
The southernmost tip of Madagascar has an ever-changing landscape of savannahs, deserts and spiny forests. There live the Bara, the Mahafaly, the Antandroy, the Sakalava and the Antanosy to name a few of the local tribes. As long ago as the 16th Century they made their first contacts with foreigners in the form of Portuguese invaders in the Fort Dauphin/Antalagnaro area and the English settlers who arrived in St. Augustin, which is close to the present-day towns of Tulear and Toliara. These Europeans brought various metals for trading purposes, usually in the form of silver Mexican Pesos and later French 5-Franc coins, and these currencies co-existed prior to French Colonial rule. Two forms of traditional money made from imported coins co-existed prior to French colonial rule.
In January 1900 French money became the only legal currency in Madagascar. The use of "Monnaie Coupee" continued for a further five years until 1905 when it was felt that an adequate supply of French coins and notes was in circulation.
Because most of the inhabitants believed that money (Malagache : "vola") also had magical properties, some of these Fanery have survived in the hands of local healers called "mpisikidy" (or "witch doctor"), "ombiasa" ("healer"), or "olona-be-hasina" ("wise man"). They used these to fabricate a talisman or lucky charm, whilst at the same time offering certain shells, magic wood (with supposed healing properties), seeds, beads and also animal parts as a remedy for all kinds of diseases.
It is customary that when a person dies that these Fanery are buried with them, with the result that over time these have for the most part vanished and today are exceedingly scarce. It does happen that when silver in the form of old coins becomes available, the traditional silver Fanery gets copied.
Monnaie Coupée.
Prior to 1895 there was no local currency. The silver coins that came from abroad were often cut into smaller pieces to satisfy the need for smaller denominations.
These bits were called "Monnaie Coupee".
In certain Southern areas the inhabitants preferred to transform the foreign coins into Fanery.
This they did both for decorative and practical purposes. For the first time they used also copper coins to make Fanery, and these looked attractive when strung on a necklace. One can be reasonably certain that the "Monnaie Coupee" and Fanery circulated in the different areas at the same time, possibly also with other forms of payment.
Use of Fanery.
Over the past 200 years Fanery have been used for various purposes:
For jewellery.
As pendants on necklaces
For medicinal purposes.
As "fanafody" or traditional medication
In Madagascar for many centuries (and even up to the present day) all forms of money have been used by the Traditional healers. These "lucky charms" were either worn around the neck or placed on the body parts to be healed.
As an instrument of payment.
It can be assumed that Fanery also had a monetary value. The silver coins found in Madagascar usually had a weight of 25 grams which could conveniently be converted into 10-12 silver Fanery. These silver Fanery had a certain value in relation to copper Fanery, but any supposed standard rate of exchange remains unknown. The situation is complicated by the fact that copper Fanery varied greatly in size and hence in weight. Just how much copper Fanery was required to match a silver piece is unknown at this stage.
As mentioned, original Fanery both in silver and copper have become very scarce today. Places where they may be found are threefold:
These healers, when asked if they have any Fanery will invariably deny it. They are most reluctant to even show them to "Vazahas" (white men/foreigners). They tend to regard us as powerful magicians, able to construct such magic things as cars and airplanes, and they fear that in our possession their Fanery could lose its healing properties. Moreover, for much the same reason, anyone wearing a Fanery around their neck will immediately conceal it if they spot a white person approaching.
One should note that in the last 70 years, with French coins readily available such as the nickel coins of the Twenties and Thirties and the aluminium coins of the Forties and Fifties, craftsmen have started to fabricate new Fanery. These 20th Century pieces can be found with ombiasa or healers at most of the local markets where medicinal herbs and lucky charms are sold.
A collection of fanery collected over a long period of time with the assistance of locals in the remote regions of Betioky, Ampanihy and Bekily, where local beliefs and traditions still prevail, is presented in the photo gallery together with coins from which they were manufactured in the past.


Martin Rutten

Martin Rutten (1876–1944) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer who served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo from 1923 to 1927.
Biography.
Martin Rutten was born in the village of Clermont-sur-Berwinne in Belgium's Province of Liège in 1876. His father was originally from Belgian Limburg and his mother was Walloon. Rutten studied Law, gaining a doctorate, and later practiced as a lawyer in Verviers.
In 1901, Rutten enlisted in the colonial civil service as a magistrate. He was posted to Katanga Province and later sent to Bas-Congo to head the Prosecutor's Office ("parquet général") at the Appeals Court in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). He was posted back to Katanga after the creation of a second appellate court at Élisabethville (now Lubumbashi) as "procureur general".
In October 1918, Rutten was promoted to the rank of Vice-Governor General. For two years, he was given responsibility for the administration of Katanga. Rutten was appointed to Governor-General in 1923 following the resignation of Maurice Lippens after differences between him and the Ministry of the Colonies. Rutten's appointment marked a change in colonial policy as previously most governors had been selected from military backgrounds. Louis Franck, however, selected Rutten because of his civilian background and because of his long personal experience in the Congo. His term coincided with trade union unrest among colonial civil servants. He returned to Belgium at the end of his term in 1927.
In retirement, Rutten was involved in colonial associations in Belgium including the Royal Belgian Colonial Institute. He retired definitively in 1934 and died in Brussels on 31 December 1944.