New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple

The New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple was established in New Orleans, Louisiana, in May 1990 by Priest Oswan Chamani and Priestess Miriam Chamani.
Background.
Over the years the Temple has grown in its knowledge of Voodoo in relation with World Religions, and serves many people throughout America and the World. The Temple follows a unique version of Voodoo that combines elements of other spiritual paths with traditional practices. It has become known through television and movie production, and is visited by representatives of universities, anthropologists, and researchers in African-based religion. The Temple has a troupe of sacred drummers called the Krewe of Nutria led, in part, by Louis Martinie', who have played for the New Orleans Voodoo Museum, and at various local functions. It is located at 1428 North Rampart Street down the road from Historic Congo Square Park where African slaves held their rituals every Sunday evening in the Seventeen through Eighteen Hundreds.


Canaan Zinothi Moyo

Canaan Zinothi Moyo (3 September 1932 – 9 November 2017) was a Zimbabwean politician, in the NDP and ZAPU, after which he fled into exile in Sweden.
Early life.
Born in 1932, in his teens he worked as a carpenter and joined the African Artisans Union.
Politics.
He then became the provincial chair of the National Democratic Party (NDP). In 1961, NDP was banned and was succeeded by ZAPU - he retained his post and became the provincial chair for ZAPU.
During the liberation struggle, he was imprisoned and detained from 1964 to 1971 before fleeing to Zambia and eventually assigned to be ZAPU representative in Sweden by Joshua Nkomo.
After independence, he along with other ZAPU colleagues were subjected to intimidation & unfair imprisonment by Zimbabwe African National Union charged with undermining the government.
When some of his ZAPU colleagues agreed to sign the Unity Accord in 1987, which saw most of them absorbed into ZANU, he did not join his colleagues & continued his fight against the government. He went on to form his own political party the Liberty Party of Zimbabwe and contested the 1990 elections where the party performed dismally.
Moyo would not join the newly set up Movement for Democratic Change and he migrated to the United Kingdom.


David Crane (lawyer)

David Michael Crane (born May 29, 1950) is an American lawyer who was the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) from April 2002 until July 15, 2005. During his tenure, he indicted, among others, the then-President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. Crane was replaced as chief prosecutor by his deputy Desmond de Silva. On April 26, 2012, the SCSL, sitting in The Hague, convicted Taylor on various charges. Crane served as Professor of Practice at Syracuse University College of Law from 2006 until 2018.
Early life and education.
Born in Santa Monica, California, Crane attended Ohio University, earning a Bachelor of General Studies degree in History in 1972 and an M.A. in African Studies in 1973. Commissioned as an Army officer after graduation, he trained to be a paratrooper. While still on active duty, he earned a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law in 1980 and joined the Judge Advocate General's Corps.
Career.
Crane served on active duty in the Army for over twenty years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He then spent about ten more years working for the United States federal government. His former posts include Director of the Office of Intelligence Review, assistant general counsel of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Waldemar A. Solf Professor of International Law at the United States Army Judge Advocate General's School.
Crane served as Professor of Practice at Syracuse University College of Law from 2006 until 2018. He taught international criminal law, international law, national security law, and the law of armed conflict.
In conjunction with Syracuse University College of Law students, Crane started Impunity Watch, an online publication which seeks to inform the world of human rights violations in real-time. Another Syracuse University College of Law project is the Syria Accountability Project (SAP). SAP was begun in 2011 as a project of Crane’s International Legal Practice course at SU Law and now involves 50 SU law students. SAP works collectively with several international organizations to provide impartial analysis of open source materials so that President Bashar al-Assad and his subordinates—as well as members of the Syrian opposition—can be prosecuted openly and fairly under the Geneva Conventions, the Rome Statute, and/or Syrian Penal Law.
Following his time as founding Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Crane and his fellow prosecutors DeSilva and Brenda Hollis traveled to The Hague, Netherlands on September 26, 2013 to witness the upholding of Taylor’s 50-year sentence by the special court’s appeals judges. On October 29, 2013 Crane testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations about the possible establishment of a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal. He later co-authored the 2014 Syrian detainee report.
In July 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Crane to co-chair (alongside Sara Hossain and Kaari Betty Murungi) a three-person Commission of Inquiry into the killing of at least 140 Palestinians by the Israeli army. Already one month later, he resigned “due to a personal circumstance that has arisen.”
He is currently a member of the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative Advisory Council, a project of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis to establish the world’s first treaty on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.
Awards.
Crane is a recipient of the Legion of Merit and the Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Case Western Reserve University in May 2008. His alma mater Ohio University conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in April 2017.


Tewabech Ali

Tewabech Ali (1831 - 19 August 1858) was the first wife of Kassa Haile, better known as Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia. They were married in 1848.
Although she was offered as a bride to Kassa by her grandmother, Empress Menen Liben Amede, entirely for political reasons, he loved her and was faithful to her until her death. This is shown by the fact they made their wedding official by partaking of Communion together at the same time he was proclaimed Emperor.
She died in Wollo while Emperor Tewodros was campaigning against rebels in that province. They had no children, and after she died reportedly his British friend John Bell had to persuade Tewodros that a second marriage was not against the teaching of the Bible.
Some historians like Paul B. Henze, believe Tewabech had a positive effect on Tewodros, and his violent and erratic behavior in the last ten years of his reign was due in part to the lack of advice from her, and other advisors like John Bell and Walter Plowden (who were killed in 1860).


History of Niger

This is the history of the Niger. See also the history of Africa and the history of West Africa.
The Pre-historic Niger.
Humans have lived in what is now the Niger from the earliest times. 2 to 3.5 million-year-old Australopithecus bahrelghazali remains have been found in neighboring Chad.
Archeologists in the Niger have much work to do, with little known of the prehistory of the societies that inhabited the south, the home of the vast majority of modern Nigeriens. The deserts and the mountains of the north, though, have garnered attention for the ancient abandoned cities and pre-historic rock carvings found in the Aïr Mountains and the Ténéré desert.
Considerable evidence indicates that about 60,000 years ago, humans inhabited what has since become the desolate Sahara Desert of northern Niger. Later, on what was then huge fertile grasslands, from at least 7,000 BCE there was pastoralism, herding of sheep and goats, large settlements and pottery. Cattle were introduced to the Central Sahara (Ahaggar) from 4,000 to 3,500 BCE. Remarkable rock paintings, many found in the Aïr Mountains, dated 3,500 to 2,500 BCE, portray vegetation and animal presence rather different from modern expectations.
One discovery suggests what is now the Sahara of northeast Niger was home to a succession of Holocene era societies. One Saharan site illustrated how sedentary hunter-fisher-gatherers lived at the edge of shallow lakes around 7700–6200 BCE, but disappeared during a period of extreme drought that may have lasted for a millennium over 6200–5200 BCE. Several former northern villages and archaeological sites date from the Green Sahara period of 7500–7000 to 3500–3000 BCE. When the climate returned to savanna grasslands—wetter than today's climate—and lakes reappeared in what is the modern Ténére desert, a population practicing hunting, fishing, and cattle husbandry. This last population survived until almost historical times, from 5200–2500 BCE, when the current arid period began.
As the Sahara dried after 2000 BCE, the north of Niger became the desert it is today, with settlements and trade routes clinging to the Air in the north, the Kaouar and shore of Lake Chad in the west, and (apart for a scattering of oases) most people living along what is now the southern border with Nigeria and the southwest of the country.
The probable ancient regional ecology.
North Africa enjoyed a fertile climate during the subpluvial era; what is now the Sahara supported a savanna type of ecosystem, with elephant, giraffe, and other grassland and woodland animals now typical of the Sahel region south of the desert. Historian and Africanist Roland Oliver has described the scene as follows:
[In] the highlands of the central Sahara beyond the Libyan desert... in the great massifs of the Tibesti and the Hoggar, the mountaintops, today bare rock, were covered at this period with forests of oak and walnut, lime, alder and elm. The lower slopes, together with those of the supporting bastions – the Tassili and the Acacus to the north, Ennedi and Air to the south – carried olive, juniper and Aleppo pine. In the valleys, perennially flowing rivers teemed with fish and were bordered by seed-bearing grasslands.
Metalworking technology.
A 2002 UNESCO published study suggested that iron smelting at Termit, in eastern Niger may have begun as early as 1500 BC. This finding, which would be of great importance to both the history of Niger and the history of the diffusion of Iron Age metalworking technology in all of sub-Saharan Africa, is as yet contentious. Older accepted studies place the spread of both copper and Iron technology to date from the early first Millennium CE: 1500 years later than the Termit Massif finds.
Ancient history.
By at least the 5th century BCE, Carthage and Egypt became terminals for West African gold, ivory, and slaves trading salt, cloth, beads, and metal goods. With this trade, Niger was on the route between the empires of the Sahel and the empires of the Mediterranean basin.
Trade continued into Roman times. Although there are Classical references to direct travel from the Mediterranean to West Africa (Daniels, p. 22f), most of this trade was conducted through middlemen who inhabited the area and so were aware of safe passages through the drying lands.
Recent archaeological discoveries at Bura (in southwest Niger) and in adjacent southeast Burkina Faso have documented the existence of the iron-age Bura culture from the 3rd century CE to the 13th century CE. The Bura-Asinda system of settlements apparently covered the lower Niger River valley. But further research is needed to understand the role this early civilization played in the ancient and medieval history of West Africa.
Introduction of the camel.
Herodotus wrote of the Garamantes hunting the Ethiopian Troglodytes with their chariots; this account was associated with depictions of horses drawing chariots in contemporary cave art in southern Morocco and the Fezzan, giving origin to a theory that the Garamantes, or some other Saran people, had created chariot routes to provide Rome and Carthage with gold and ivory. However, it has been argued that no horse skeletons have been found dating from this early period in the region, and chariots would have been unlikely vehicles for trading purposes due to their small capacity.
The earliest evidence for domesticated camels in the region dates from the 3rd century. Used by the Berber people, they enabled more regular contact across the entire width of the Sahara, but regular trade routes did not develop until the beginnings of the Islamic conversion of West Africa in the 7th and 8th centuries. Two main trade routes developed. The first ran through the western desert from modern Morocco to the Niger Bend, the second from modern Tunisia to the Lake Chad area. These stretches were relatively short and had the essential network of occasional oases that established the routing as inexorably as pins in a map. Further east of the Fezzan with its trade route through the valley of Kaouar to Lake Chad, Libya was impassable due to its lack of oases and fierce sandstorms. A route from the Niger Bend to Egypt was abandoned in the 10th century due to its dangers.
Imperial Niger.
Niger was an important economic crossroads, and the empires of Songhai, Mali, Gao, and Kanem-Bornu, as well as a number of Hausa states, claimed control over portions of the area. During recent centuries, the nomadic Tuareg formed large confederations, pushed southward, and, siding with various Hausa states, clashed with the Fulani Empire of Sokoto, which had gained control of much of the Hausa territory in the late 18th century. The area eventually became known as the Bornu Empire, which ended in 1893.
Colonization.
In the 19th century, contact with Europe began when the first European explorers—notably Mungo Park (British) and Heinrich Barth (German)-explored the area searching for the mouth of the Niger River. Although French efforts at pacification began before 1900, dissident ethnic groups, especially the desert Tuareg, were not subdued until 1922, when Niger became a French colony.
Niger's colonial history and development parallel that of other French West African territories. France administered her West African colonies through a governor general at Dakar, Senegal, and governors in the individual territories, including Niger. In addition to conferring a limited form of French citizenship on the inhabitants of the territories, the 1946 French constitution provided for decentralization of power and limited participation in political life for local advisory assemblies.
Towards independence.
A further revision in the organization of overseas territories occurred with the passage of the Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre) of 23 July 1956, followed by re-organizational measures enacted by the French Parliament early in 1957. In addition to removing voting inequalities, these laws provided for creation of governmental organs, assuring individual territories a measure of self-government over internal matters such as education, health, and infrastructure.
After the establishment of the Fifth French Republic on 4 October 1958, the territories of French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa were given the right to hold a referendum on their membership in the French Community, a modified form of the French Union which allowed some limited self-government and was viewed as a path to eventual independence.
The 4 December elections (on whether to remain in the French Community, followed shortly by those for the Nigerien territorial assembly) were contested by the two political blocks of the Territorial Assembly. The Nigerien Progressive Party (PPN), originally a regional branch of the African Democratic Rally (RDA), led the Union for the Franco-African Community (UCFA) and was headed by PPN leader and deputy-speaker of the Assembly Hamani Diori. The other block was led by the then majority leader of the Assembly, Djibo Bakary. His Movement Socialist Africain (known by the name Sawaba – "independence" in the Hausa language) called for a "no" vote: one of only two major formations in French West Africa to do so.
While there have always been questions about French influence in the voting The results of both elections were confirmed on the 16th. The PPN led UCFA (yes 358,000) defeated Sawaba (no 98,000), winning 54 seats to 4 in the 60 seat assembly. On the 18th Niger declared itself a republic within the French Community and the Territorial Assembly became the Constituent Assembly. This date (18 December 1958) is celebrated as Republic Day, the national holiday of Niger, and considered the date of the founding of the nation. In March 1959 this became the Legislative Assembly.
In 1958 Diori became president of the provisional government, and then became Prime Minister of Niger in 1959. Having organised a powerful coalition of Hausa, Fula, and Djerma leaders, especially made up of chiefs and traditional leaders, in support of Niger's "Yes" vote in the 1959 referendum, Diori gained French favor. During the 1959–1960 period, the French government banned all political parties except the PPN, effectively making Niger a one-party state. The Sawaba leaders fled into exile, and the member parties of the UCFA were folded into the PPN.
Independence.
On 11 July 1960 France agreed to Niger becoming fully independent. The French Fifth Republic passed a revision of the French Community allowing membership of independent states. On 28 July the Nigerien Legislative Assembly became the Nigerien National Assembly. Independence was declared on 3 August 1960 under the leadership of Prime Minister Diori. Subsequently, in November 1960 Diori was elected to the new position of President of Niger by the National Assembly. During his presidency, Diori's government favored the maintenance of traditional social structures and the retention of close economic ties with France. He was re-elected unopposed in 1965 and 1970.
Diori gained worldwide respect for his role as a spokesman for African affairs and as a popular arbitrator in conflicts involving other African nations. Domestically, however, his administration was rife with corruption, and the government was unable to implement much-needed reforms or to alleviate the widespread famine brought on by the Sahelian drought of the early 1970s. Increasingly criticized at home for his negligence in domestic matters, Diori put down a coup in 1963 and narrowly escaped assassination in 1965. Faced with an attempted military coup and attacks by members of Sawaba, he used French advisers and troops to counter threats to his rule, despite student and union protests against what they perceived French neocolonialism. However, his relationship with France suffered when his government voiced dissatisfaction with the level of investment in uranium production when French President Georges Pompidou visited Niger in 1972.
The PPN functioned as a platform for a handful of Politburo leaders grouped around Diori and his advisors Boubou Hama and Diamballa Maiga, who were largely unchanged from their first election in 1956. By 1974 the party had not held a congress since 1959 (one was scheduled for late 1974 during the famine induced political crisis, but never held). The PPN election lists were made up of traditional rulers from the main ethnic regions who, upon election to the Assembly, were given only ceremonial power. Ethnic tensions, too, mounted during Diori's regime. The Politburo and successive cabinets were made up almost exclusively of Djerma, Songhai and Maouri ethnic groups from the west of the country, the same ethnic base the French had relied on during colonial rule. No Politburo ever contained a member of Hausa or Fula groups, even though the Hausa were the plurality of the population, forming over 40% of Nigeriens.
Widespread civil disorder followed allegations that some government ministers were misappropriating stocks of food aid and accused Diori of consolidating power. Diori limited cabinet appointments to fellow Djerma, family members, and close friends. In addition, he acquired new powers by declaring himself the minister of foreign and defense affairs.
1974 to 1990.
On 15 April 1974, Lieutenant colonel Seyni Kountché led a military coup that ended Diori's rule. Diori was imprisoned until 1980 and remained under house arrest. The government that followed, while plagued by coup attempts of its own, survived until 1993. While a period of relative prosperity, the military government of the period allowed little free expression and engaged in arbitrary imprisonment and killing. The first presidential elections took place in 1993 (33 years after independence), and the first municipal elections only took place in 2007.
Upon Kountché's death in 1987, he was succeeded by his Chief of Staff and cousin, Col. Ali Saibou. Saibou liberalized some of Niger's laws and policies, and promulgated a new constitution. He released political prisoners, including Diori and his old political nemesis Djibo Bakary. However, President Saibou's efforts to control political reforms failed in the face of union and student demands to institute a multi-party democratic system. The Saibou regime acquiesced to these demands by the end of 1990. New political parties and civic associations sprang up, and a National Conference was convened in July 1991 to prepare the way for the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair elections. The debate was often contentious and accusatory, but under the leadership of Prof. André Salifou, the conference developed consensus on the modalities of a transitional government.
1990s.
A transitional government was installed in November 1991 to manage the affairs of state until the institutions of the Third Republic were put in place in April 1993. While the economy deteriorated over the course of the transition, certain accomplishments stand out, including the successful conduct of a constitutional referendum; the adoption of key legislation such as the electoral and rural codes; and the holding of several free, fair, and nonviolent nationwide elections. Freedom of the press flourished with the appearance of several new independent newspapers. In 1993, Mahamane Ousmane, the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS) party candidate, won the presidential election with the support of a coalition of parties. The agreement between the parties fell apart in 1994 leading to governmental paralysis as the CDS on its own no longer had a majority in the assembly. Ousmane dissolved the legislature and called new legislative elections, but the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) party won the largest group of seats, so Ousmane was compelled to appoint Hama Amadou of the MNSD as prime minister. The prime minister then prepared for a "surprise" attack.
Since 1990 Tuareg and Toubou groups that had been leading the Tuareg Rebellion claiming they lacked attention and resources from the central government. As the culmination of an initiative started in 1991, the government signed peace accords in April 1995 with these groups. The government agreed to absorb some former rebels in the military and, with French assistance, help others return to a productive civilian life.
The paralysis of government between the President and the Prime Minister who no longer agreed gave Col. Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara a rationale to overthrow the Third Republic and depose the first democratically elected president of Niger, on 27 January 1996. While leading a military authority that ran the government (Conseil de Salut National) during a six-month transition period, Baré enlisted specialists to draft a new constitution for a Fourth Republic announced in May 1996.
Baré organized a presidential election in June 1996. He ran against four other candidates, including Ousmane. Before voting had finished, Baré dissolved the national electoral committee and appointed another, which announced him the winner with over 50% of the votes cast. When his efforts to justify his coup and subsequent questionable election failed to convince donors to restore multilateral and bilateral economic assistance, a desperate Baré ignored the international embargo on Libya seeking funds for Niger's economy. In repeated violations of basic civil liberties by the regime, opposition leaders were imprisoned; journalists often arrested, beaten, and deported by an unofficial militia composed of police and military; and independent media offices were looted and burned with impunity.
In April 1999, Baré was assassinated in a coup led by Maj. Daouda Malam Wanké who established a transitional National Reconciliation Council to oversee the drafting of a constitution for a Fifth Republic with a French style semi-presidential system. In votes that international observers found to be generally free and fair, the Nigerien electorate approved the new constitution in July 1999 and held legislative and presidential elections in October and November 1999. Heading a MNSD/CDS coalition, Tandja Mamadou won the presidency. The council transitioned to civilian rule in December 1999.
2000s.
In July 2004, Niger held municipal elections nationwide as part of its decentralization process. Some 3,700 people were elected to new local governments in 265 newly established communes. The ruling MNSD party won more positions than any other political party; however, opposition parties made significant gains.
In November and December 2004, Niger held presidential and legislative elections. Mamadou Tandja was elected to his second five-year presidential term with 65% of the vote in an election that international observers called generally free and fair. This was the first presidential election with a democratically elected incumbent and a test to Niger's young democracy.
In the 2004 legislative elections, the MNSD, the CDS), the Rally for Social Democracy (RSD), the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), the Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), and the Social Party for Nigerien Democracy (PSDN) coalition, which backed Tandja, won 88 of the 113 seats in the National Assembly.
The Second Tuareg insurgency in Niger began in 2007 when a previously unknown group, the Mouvement des Nigeriens pour la Justice (MNJ), emerged. The predominantly Tuareg group issued a number of demands, mainly related to development in the north. It attacked military and other facilities and laid landmines in the north. The resulting insecurity devastated Niger's tourist industry and deterred investment in mining and oil. Algeria helped negotiate an August 2008 Malian peace deal, which was broken by a rebel faction in December, crushed by the Malian military and wholesale defections of rebels to the government. Niger saw heavy fighting and disruption of Uranium production in the mountainous north, before a Libyan backed peace deal, aided by a factional split among the rebels, brought a negotiated ceasefire and amnesty in May 2009.
On 26 May 2009, President Tandja dissolved parliament after the country's constitutional court ruled against plans to hold a referendum on whether to allow him a third term in office. According to the constitution, a new parliament was elected within three months. This touched off a political struggle between Tandja, trying to extend his term-limited authority beyond 2009 through the establishment of a Sixth Republic, and his opponents who demanded that he step down at the end of his second term in December 2009. See 2009 Nigerien constitutional crisis. The military took over the country and President Tandja was put in prison, charged with corruption.
The military kept their promise to return the country to democratic civilian rule. A constitutional referendum and national elections were held. A presidential election was held on 31 January 2011, but as no clear winner emerged, run-off elections were held on 12 March 2011. Mahamadou Issoufou of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism was elected president. A parliamentary election was held at the same time.
An attempted coup d'état took place on the night of March 30 to 31, 2021, a few days before the inauguration of Mohamed Bazoum, president-elect. On April 2, 2021, Mohamed Bazoum was sworn in and took office.


Ibrahim Kura of Borno

Ibrahim or Ibrahim bin Umar al-Kanemi (1840s-c. 1885) was Shehu of Borno from c. 1884 to c. 1885.
Reign of Ibrahim.
Ibrahim became "Shehu" of Borno in 1884 at the death of his brother Bukar Kura. His uncle, Abba Masta Kura had been recognised "Shehu" before him but Ibrahim succeeded to bribe his way to the throne. His one-year reign was marked by an intense political crisis in Kukawa.


Jean Chalvet

Jean Victor Louis Joseph Chalvet (15 June 1893 – 28 July 1975) was a French colonial official.
Born in Tours, he studied at the École supérieure de commerce de Lille before joining the colonial service. His first overseas posting was to Mauritania in 1921. Afterwards he returned to France, obtaining a diploma from the École coloniale in Paris in 1927.
Between 1930 and 1944 he served in a variety of roles in French West Africa: in Senegal and Soudan (1930), in the Ivory Coast (1933), in Guinea (1936), in Dakar in the French West African administration (1939) and in Mauritania again (1941). During World War II, he was appointed acting governor of Mauritania by the Vichy government in 1942. By March 1944 he was one of only three Vichy appointees left in office after the Gaullist "rallyings". In May 1944 he was appointed governor of French Somaliland, but he lasted only a few weeks before Jean Beyries took over as acting governor.
In October 1946 he was appointed governor of Ubangi-Shari. In this last capacity, he did not get along with the anti-colonial activist Barthélemy Boganda. He left office in April 1948.
After a long retirement, Chalvet died at Vincennes in 1975.


Battle of Colenso

The Battle of Colenso was the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War. It was fought between British and Boer forces from the independent South African Republic and Orange Free State in and around Colenso, Natal, South Africa on 15 December 1899.
Inadequate preparation, lack of reconnaissance and uninspired leadership led to a British defeat.
Background.
Shortly before the outbreak of the war, General Sir Redvers Buller was dispatched to South Africa at the head of an Army Corps, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of all British forces in South Africa. On arrival, he found British garrisons besieged on widely separated fronts, with limited communications between the fronts. Having detached forces under Generals Lord Methuen and Gatacre to the western and central fronts, Buller assumed command of his largest detachment and proposed to lead it to the relief of a besieged British force in Ladysmith, in Natal.
On this front, the Boers had conducted some raids and reconnaissances into the southern part of the province, but in the face of a large British army, they had retired north of the Tugela River at Colenso and dug in there, blocking the road and railway line to Ladysmith. Buller originally intended making a flank march to cross the Tugela at Potgieters Drift upstream of Colenso. On hearing that Gatacre and Methuen had been defeated at the battles of Stormberg and Magersfontein, Buller felt he needed to relieve Ladysmith as soon as possible and resume overall command of the forces in South Africa, and was worried that a move to Potgieters would put him out of telegraph communications with the rest of South Africa. He also lacked wagons and draught animals, and feared that a defeat at Potgieters Drift would leave his force isolated and trapped. He decided to make a frontal assault at Colenso after two days' artillery bombardment, beginning on 13 December.
Boer plans.
Piet Joubert, Commandant-General of the Transvaal, had been incapacitated after falling from his horse. As a result, Louis Botha then assumed command of the Boers on this front. The basic Boer fighting unit was the commando, nominally consisting of all the available fighting men from a district, led by an elected "Commandant" and administered by a "Feldcornet". Botha had nine such commandos and the Swaziland Police available. He deployed his main force north of the river, covering the drifts (fords). His plan was to open fire when the British were about to cross, or were crossing, the river, enfilade their right flank and rear with a force deployed on a hill known as Hlangwane south of the river, and attack their left with another force which would cross the river several miles upstream.
The preparatory British artillery fire missed the camouflaged Boer trenches, but the defenders of Hlangwane abandoned their positions and retreated across the river. After exhortations arrived by telegram from President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic, detachments selected by drawing lots reoccupied Hlangwane the day before Buller attacked.
Botha deployed the Middelburg and Johannesburg commandos, with a contingent from the Orange Free State, at Robinson's Drift, upstream from Colenso; the Ermelo commando at the Bridle Drift upstream from Colenso; the Zoutpansberg commando and the Swaziland police at the Punt Drift at the end of a loop in the river east of the Bridle Drift, the Heidelberg, Vryheid and Krugersdorp commandos in a range of low "kopje"s and the river bank at Colenso itself, and the Wakkerstroom and Standerton commandos on Hlangwane.
British plans.
Buller was handicapped by a shortage of competent staff officers, as most of them had been dispersed from his Corps, like the Corps itself, to the various distant fronts throughout South Africa. He also lacked information on the geography of the area, and possessed only a sparsely detailed blueprint map based on railway and farm surveys, and a crude sketch map made by an artillery officer.
The British force in Natal had been grouped under Major-General Francis Clery's 2nd Division, and Buller allowed Clery to plan the attack. The 5th (Irish) Brigade, was to cross at the Bridle Drift. The brigade consisted of the 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the 1st Connaught Rangers, 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and the 1st Border Regiment, and was commanded by the confident Major General Arthur Fitzroy Hart. Meanwhile, the 2nd Brigade under Major-General Henry J. T. Hildyard would occupy the village itself (where there was another ford and two bridges across the Tugela, although one bridge had already been demolished). Hildyard's brigade consisted of the 2nd Devonshire Regiment, the 2nd Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), the 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment, and the 2nd East Surrey Regiment. Its attack was to be supported by artillery (the 14th and 66th Field Batteries of the Royal Artillery and a battery of six naval 12-pounder guns) under Colonel C.J. Long.
A regiment of regular cavalry, the 1st Royal Dragoons, under Colonel J.F. Burn-Murdoch, protected the left flank. On the right flank, Buller intended that a brigade of colonial light horse and mounted infantry under Lord Dundonald, would capture Hlangwane. (Although Buller recognised that Hlangwane was a difficult position to assault, he anticipated that once Hart's and Hildyard's troops had established bridgeheads on the north bank of the Tugela, the Boers would abandon the hill for fear of being isolated.) Dundonald's brigade consisted of Bethune's Mounted Infantry (three companies), Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry (three companies), the South African Light Horse (three squadrons) and a composite regiment made of one squadron of the Imperial Light Horse, one squadron of the Natal Carbineers and two companies of mounted infantry detached from British infantry units.
Two more infantry brigades were in reserve: they were the 4th (Light) Brigade under Major General Neville Lyttelton (consisting of 2nd Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 1st Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), 3rd King's Royal Rifle Corps and the 1st Durham Light Infantry). The second formation was the 6th (Fusilier) Brigade under Major General Geoffrey Barton (with the 2nd Royal Fusiliers, the 2nd Scots Fusiliers, the 1st Royal Welch Fusiliers, and the 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers under command).
Buller also had another three batteries of field artillery (7th, 63rd and 64th), and another battery of eight naval 12-pounder guns and two 4.7-inch naval guns to support the flanking mounted troops or in reserve.
Battle.
Early on the morning of 15 December, Hart gave his men half an hour's parade ground drill, then led them in close column towards the Bridle Drift. However, his locally recruited guide, who spoke no English, led the brigade towards the wrong ford, the Punt Drift at the end of a loop in the river at . (The loop can be clearly seen to the right of the photograph at the head of the article.) Botha had ordered his men to hold their fire until the British tried to cross the river, but Hart's brigade, jammed into the loop of the river, was too good a target to miss. The Boers opened fire; Hart's brigade suffered over 500 casualties before they could be extricated. The battalions repeatedly tried to extend to the left and locate the Bridle Drift. On each occasion, Hart recalled them and sent them back into the loop.
Meanwhile, as Hildyard moved towards Colenso, the two batteries of field guns under Colonel Charles James Long forged ahead of him, and deployed in the open well within rifle range of the nearest Boers. Once again, this was too tempting a target, and the Boers opened fire. The British gunners fought on, even though suffering heavy casualties, but ammunition could not be brought to them and they were eventually forced to take shelter in a donga (dry stream bed) behind the guns. The bullock-drawn naval guns had not been able to keep up with the field pieces, but were able to come into action from the Boer trenches.
Buller, who had also heard that his light horse were pinned down at the foot of Hlangwane and unable to advance, asserted command and took direct control of the battle from Clery. Buller decided to call the battle off at this point, even though Hildyard's men, advancing in open order, had just occupied Colenso. He went forward (being slightly wounded himself) and called for volunteers to recover Long's guns. Two teams approached them, hooked up and brought away two weapons. One of those mortally wounded in this action was Lieutenant, the Honourable, Frederick Roberts (the only son of Field Marshal Lord Roberts) who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Corporal George Edward Nurse was also awarded a Victoria Cross for his efforts in retrieving two of the guns that day amongst other actions. Several other VCs were also awarded. A second attempt to recover the rest of guns failed when horses and volunteers were shot down by Boer rifle fire.
During the afternoon, the British fell back to their camp, leaving ten guns, many wounded gunners and some of Hildyard's men behind to be captured during the night. Although Buller had committed few of his reserves, he reasoned that a full day under a boiling sun would have sapped their morale and strength. Lyttelton committed some of his troops to help Hart's brigade withdraw, but the cautious Major General Barton refused to support Dundonald's or Hildyard's hard-pressed troops.
The British lost 143 killed, 756 wounded, and 220 captured. Boer casualties were eight killed and 30 wounded.
Aftermath.
Although replaced as Commander-in-Chief in South Africa by Lord Roberts, Buller remained in command in Natal despite the death of Freddy Roberts. The brigades were dispersed into new divisional commands, and the 2nd Division reduced to two brigades. Over the next month, Buller made his original intended flank march to Potgieters Drift, but this ended with the disastrous Battle of Spion Kop. Eventually he returned to Colenso, and forced his way over the Tugela by laboriously outflanking and capturing Hlangwane, which dominated the Boer left. Even so, another ten days' fighting were necessary, but eventually Botha's forces were broken and forced to retreat, temporarily demoralised. Ladysmith was relieved on 28 February 1900.
After the battle of Colenso, four soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry that can be awarded to British (and today Commonwealth) forces. All crossed an exposed area of intense Boer fire and rescued two of the twelve guns of the 14th and 66th Batteries when their crews had become casualties or were driven from their weapons. They were Captain Walter Norris Congreve, Captain Harry Norton Schofield, Corporal George Edward Nurse and Lieutenant Frederick Roberts (son of Field Marshal Lord Roberts), who died of his wounds two days later.


2006 Mauritanian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Mauritania on 19 November, with a second round 3 December 2006. At least 28 political parties competed to comprise the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly; Islamist parties were banned, but many Islamists ran as independent candidates. 95 seats in the National Assembly were at stake in the election, along with over 200 local councils.
About 600 independent candidates ran in the election, many of whom were grouped into the National Rally of Independents (RNI). Many members of the RNI were formerly members of the Democratic and Social Republican Party, which had ruled the country under President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya.
Results.
Before the first round's count was complete, Ahmed Ould Daddah claimed victory for his party, the Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD), saying that it was "the country's biggest political force", and claiming that the eight-party coalition including the RFD had won a majority. The Popular Alliance for Progress (APP), a party for former slaves that is also part of the coalition, and the renamed former ruling party, the Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal, were also reported to have performed well. Results from the first round confirmed a strong showing for the RFD, which won 12 out of the 43 declared seats; independent candidates also did well, taking 24 seats. For 52 seats, however, candidates did not receive majorities and these seats had to be decided in the second round.
After the second round was held on 3 December, the coalition of former opposition parties had 39 seats (including 15 for the RFD), with an additional two seats for independents supporting the coalition. Independents won 41 seats, 39 of which were part of the RNI. The former ruling party won seven seats.
17.89% of the deputies elected were female.
Messaoud Ould Boulkheir of the APP was elected as President of the National Assembly on April 26, 2007. There were 93 deputies present for the vote, and 91 of them voted for Boulkheir; two other deputies, Babah Ould Ahmed Babou and El Arbi Ould Jideyne, each received one vote.


2007 Casablanca bombings

The 2007 Casablanca bombings refer to a series of suicide bombings in March and April 2007 in Casablanca, Morocco.
March bombing.
March 11.
There was a suicide bombing on March 11, 2007, in Casablanca, Morocco. The suicide bombers came from the shanty towns of Sidi Moumen, a poor suburb of Casablanca.
The bombing occurred at 22 hours local time inside an internet cafe. Two men were trying to log into an extremist Islamist website before the owner asked them not to. The two men refused and shortly after, the owner closed the door and threatened to call the police. The bombers asked the owner to open the door and to let them go but he refused. One of the two individuals, 23-year-old Abdelfattah Raydi who was carrying an explosive load hidden under his clothing detonated the bomb, which killed him and injured his companion and three others including the owner. The companion, identified later as 18-year-old Youssef Khoudri escaped with an eye injury and left for a nearby hospital, where he was later captured by the authorities.
The Director of General Affairs of the Grand Casablanca, Mokhtar Bekkali Kacemi declared to the media that the bombers "were probably getting ready to commit a criminal act...they wanted to receive instructions via Internet to execute their attacks elsewhere."
According to "Assabah" newspaper the real target had been Casablanca's police and paramilitary headquarters as well as some tourist sites.
April bombings.
April 10.
Following the March bombing, a major security operation against suspected Islamist militants resulted in three suspected suicide bombers blowing themselves up and a fourth being shot dead by police as he tried to detonate his device. One police officer died in one of the explosions. Officials said one of the three suspected militants who blew himself up during a police raid in Morocco is the brother of an internet cafe bomber.
April 14.
An additional two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Casablanca on April 14. One woman passer-by was injured in the blasts, which happened near the US consulate and its cultural centre.
Sentencing.
In October 2008, Morocco sentenced 45 people to 2 to 30 years in prison for their roles in a plot to attack targets in Casablanca, a plot related to the 2007 bombings.


Federal Convention of Namibia

The Federal Convention of Namibia (FCN) was a political party based in Rehoboth, Namibia. It was created in the wake of Namibian independence in 1988 by a merger of several smaller parties and gained a seat in the Namibian Constituent Assembly. After also-ran results in 1994 and 1999 it ceased to be publicly active.
History.
The FCN was formed in 1988 by a merger of several smaller parties:
The FCN was led by Diergaardt until his death in 1998. After that, Kephes Conradie took over the leadership of the party. The party contested Namibia's legislative elections from 1989 to 1999.
Electoral results.
In the 1989 election, FCN received 10,452 total votes, which allotted it one seat in the Namibian Constituent Assembly. In the former Coloured homeland, the party received twenty-nine percent of the total vote, less than the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance and SWAPO parties. This result, surprising as Diergaardt was Kaptein of the Rehoboth Basters at that time, was attributed to Diergaardt's secession plans for the territory around Rehoboth. President Diergaardt took FCN's sole Constituent Assembly seat but soon resigned on health grounds. Kerina took over from him and was elected Deputy Speaker of the house.
In the 1994 Namibian parliamentary election, the party failed to earn a seat and received just 1,166 total votes. In the 1999 Namibian parliamentary election, it received just 764 total votes, ranking last of parties contesting the election. It did not contest the 2004 Namibian parliamentary election.


Rububi Kyebambe II of Toro

Rukirabasaija Rububi Kyebambe II was Omukama of the Kingdom of Toro, in 1875 and from 1877 until 1879. He was the seventh (7th) Omukama of Toro.
Claim to the throne.
He was the fourth son of Kasunga Kyebambe Nyaika, Omukama of Toro, from 1866 until 1871 and from 1871 until 1872. No mention is made of his mother. He ascended to the throne following the abdication of his elder brother, Rukirabasaija Isingoma Rukidi II in 1875.
Personal life.
No mention is made about the marital life of Omukama Rububi Kyebambe II. It is not known how many children were fathered by Omukama Rububi Kyebambe II.
His reign.
He became Omukama following the abdication of his brother, Rukidi II, in 1875. However, later that year, Toro was invaded by the Bunyoro Army under the command of Chief Kikukule of Bugangaizi. He fled to Buganda. Two years later, he returned and deposed his younger brother, Omukama Katera, in 1877. He ruled until he himself was deposed in 1879.
The final years.
Omukama Rububi Kyebambe II deposed by his younger brother, Rukirabasaija Kakende Nyamuyonjo, in 1879, with the support of the Buganda Army. It is not known where and how Omukama Rububi Kyebambe died or what caused his death.


Obi Henry Ezeagwuna II

Obi Henry Ezeagwuna II was a Nigerian royal and the traditional leader of Issele-Uku.
He died in a traffic collision on August 9, 2014.


Garhajis

The Garhajis, historically known as the Habar Gerhajis (, , Full Name: "Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad") is a major clan of the wider Isaaq clan family. They are the traditional holders of the Isaaq Sultanate and Habr Yunis Sultanate since the 18th century. As descendants of Ismail bin Sheikh Isaaq, its members form a part of the Habar Magaadle confederation, and they constitute one of the largest sub-clans of the Isaaq. The Garhajis are divided into two major sub-clans: the Habr Yunis (Said Ismail) and Eidagale (Daud Ismail). They are traditionally nomadic pastoralists, merchants and skilled poets. One of the earliest mentions of the Garhajis in Western literature was in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1848, where they are described as a powerful and warlike clan with an abundance of livestock reserves.
Distribution.
The Garhajis inhabit the western Togdheer, eastern Maroodi Jeex, southern Sahil, northern Sool and central Sanaag regions of Somaliland. They also inhabit the Degehbur, Wardheer and Aware zones in the Haud region of Ethiopia. They also have a large settlement in Kenya where they are known as a constituent segment of the Isahakia community.
History.
Lineage.
Sheikh Ishaaq ibn Ahmed was one of the Arabian scholars that crossed the sea from Arabia to the Horn of Africa to spread Islam around 12th to 13th century. He is said to have been descended from Prophet Mohammed's daughter Fatimah. Hence the Sheikh belonged to the Ashraf or Sada, titles given to the descendants of the prophet. It is said he married two local women in Somaliland that left him eight sons, one of them being Ismail (Garhajis).
Medieval period (Conquest of Abyssinia).
Historically the Garhajis took part in the conquest of Abyssinia and were part of the Adal Sultanate and are mentioned in the book "Futuh Al-Habash" (Conquest of Abyssinia) as the "Habar Magaadle" along with the Habar Yunis, Eidagale, Habar Awal, Arab and Ayub clans. The Habar Magaadle are known for producing a historical figure known as "Ahmad Gurey bin Husain" who was the right-hand man of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi.
Descriptions of the Garhajis by European travellers in the 1800s.
Several early European travellers gave descriptions of the Garhajis clan during their travels through Somaliland in the 1800s and early 1900s. The Garhajis were described as being nomads who had a reputation of being fine warriors and who were very skilled equestrians, and were noted to be among the best horsemen and in possession of the best breed of Horses among the Somali.
Description of the Garhajis by C.J Cruttenden in the 1840s:
The Haber Gerhajis, the eldest branch of the three tribes of Ishaak, reside chiefly in the mountains to the south of berbera, whence they extend to the country of Ogahden. They are a powerful and warlike tribe, numbering many horses in addition to their flocks and herds.
Edward Standford FRGS, 1885:
The Haber-Gerhajis tribe had formerly been under one Sultan Hirsi Aman and were very powerful, making frequent raids into Ogadayn, but on his death, two cousins, Awad and Nur, divided the country between them.
Explorer Frank Linsly James, a guest of Sultan Awad (Cawad) Diiriye Sugulleh during his visit to Somaliland in 1884, described a performance he witnessed by Habr Yunis Horsemen at Burao's Togdheer River.
During our stay at Burao, the Sultan collected a great many of his people together, and twice entertained us with some well-executed and characteristic evolutions on horseback. On the first occasion some forty mounted men were collected in the Tug before our zariba; but this did not satisfy the Sultan, and he arranged a second "fantasia," in which fully two hundred warriors were engaged. It was the best and most characteristic thing of the kind I had ever seen. A procession was first formed in the river's bed, and on a given signal all dashed off, brandishing their spears and shields. Dressed in tobes of many colours, and sitting loosely on their gaily-caparisoned horses, they engaged in mimic contest with spear and shield, reining their horses upon their haunches when at full gallop, and with wild shouts flinging their spears into the air. Each warrior carried a short-handled whip with a broad raw hide thong, and with it lashed his steed unmercifully. Some of the riders went through regular circus feats, leaping from their horses when at full gallop, picking up objects thrown on the ground, and then remounting. After this had continued for some time they would gallop close to our zariba, and reining up, shout "Mort, mort" ("Welcome, welcome"), to which we replied, "Kul liban" ("Thanks").
D. G. Elliot commenting on the Garhajis during his visit to the Haud in 1896:
The Haber Yunis tribe, one of the most powerful in this part of Africa, and which could place several thousand warriors in the field. Like all of the natives of Somaliland they are nomads, wandering from place to place in search of water and pasture for their flocks and herds...The Habr Yunis warriors commenced to give an exhibition of their horsemanship, riding away singly or in pairs advancing to the attack, thrusting with the spear and guarding with the shield on which the point of the spear was received. They had fine horses, much superior to our own, and in the best condition.
According to military historian Roy Irons, Major J. G. Beresford of the 7th Hussars Cavalry regiment also attested to the skill of Habar Yunis horsemen.
"Of the Somali tribal horse, Major J.G beresford reported that the Habr Yunis, Dolbahanta and Ba Idris were the best." "Roy Irons, Churchill and the Mad Mullah".
Richard Francis Burton the British explorer, gave a description of the Garhajis during his visit to Somaliland in 1855:
The Habr Gerhajis, or eldest branch of the sons of Ishak, inhabit the Ghauts behind Berberah, whence they extend for several days' march to- wards Ogadayn, the southern region. This tribe is divided into a multitude of clans. The Ismail Arrah supply the Sultan, a nominal chief like the Eesa Ugaz ; they extend from Makhar to the south of Gulays, number about 15,000, shields and are subdivided into three septs. The Musa Arrah hold the land between Gulays and the seats of the Mijjarthayn and Warsangeli tribes on the windward coast. The Ishak Arrah count 5000 or 6000 shields, and inhabit the Gulays Range.
Haji Sharmarke Ali Saleh, governor of Berbera, Zeila and Tadjoura.
The Habr Yunis exercised real power over Zeila and its adjacent regions and had established themselves as a coastal power, with Sharmarke Ali Saleh (Musa Arreh) solidifying and consolidating his power in governing Zeila, Berbera and Tadjoura. In 1841 Sharmarke with fifty Matchlock men, two cannons and an army of mounted spearmen managed to invade Zeila and depose its Arab Governor, Mohammed Al Barr. Sharmarke used the canons to fire at the city walls which frightened Al Barr's followers and caused them to flee. Sharmarke succeeded Al Barr as the ruler of Zeila and its dependencies. Sharmarke's governorship had an instant effect on the city, as he maneuvered to monopolize as much of the regional trade as possible, with his sights set as far as Harar and the Ogaden. Having secured Zeila, in 1845 Sharmarke moved on to Berbera which at the time was experiencing instability as a result of a war between the Habr Awal Reer Yunis Nur and Reer Ahmed Nur sub-clans over the control of Berbera's trade. Sharmarke took advantage of this rivalry and supported the Reer Ahmed Nuh who had since been expelled from Berbera. Sharmarke took over Berbera and built four Martello towers in the vicinity of the town and garrisoned them with 30 Matchlock men. A war ensued with in the city as Reer Yunis Nuh tried gain a foothold within Berbera, the Reer Yunis Nuh were no match for Sharmarke and his modern weapons and thus failed. The Reer Yunis Nuh were expelled and moved to Bulhar Sharmarke's influence was not limited to the coast as he had many allies in the interior of the Somali country and even further in Abbyssinia. Among his allies were the Kings of Shewa. When there was tension between the Amir of Harar Abu Bakr II ibn `Abd al-Munan and Sharmarke, as a result of the Amir arresting one of his agents in Harar, Sharmarke persuaded the son of Sahle Selassie, the King of Shewa, to imprison on his behalf about 300 citizens of Harar then resident in Shewa, for a length of two years. In 1855, in an act seen as defiant of foreign powers, Sharmarke refused to sell to M. Richet, the French agent at Jeddah, a house in Zeila, citing "how easily an Agency becomes a fort", and preferring "a considerable loss to the presence of dangerous friends".
1870s -1940s (Rayyad Wars).
During this period the Garhajis were fighting an expansionist war against the Ogaden clans and gained much new territory in the Haud region. These battles are today known as the Rayyad or Guba Wars. It was a volatile era that gave birth to some of the best known Somali poetry.
In 1874 German Explorer G.A Haggenmacher witnessed the aftermath of a battle between Habr Yunis and Ogaden. He wrote:
The Habr Yunis had many wounded, but were also extremely rich in loot, the estimated number of loot was at least 10,000 camels.
In 1877 the Garhajis under the leadership of Sultan Hersi Aman conquered Daroor and subjugated the Mohamed Subeir sub-clan of the Ogaden, during the battle they captured and subsequently executed their Sultan. The Habr Yunis then proceeded to expand into Doolo region and took control of watering wells, grazing land and looted thousands of camels from the Cabdille, Makahil, Ali and Haroun sub clans of the Ogaden, forcing them to leave their homeland and flee south to Hiiraan. This particular series of conquests was what initiated the famous chains of poems known as "Guba" in which Ali Dhuh a Daarood poet laments, and berates the Ogadenis for losing so much land and exchanges heated poems with the Ogaden and Habr Yunis.
Historian Siegbert Uhlig commenting on the Guba poem writes the following:
From a historical point of view Ali dhuhs poem explicitly details the large gains in traditionally Ogaden territory and wells, and the looting of Ogaden camels by the Isaq. He details the scatterring of the Ogaden clan, their forced migration southwards seeking refuge in the feverish river valleys, and even turning to hunting and farming- measures that were again considered very shameful usually only undertaken by slaves and low-caste Somalis and utterly demeaning for the once great pastoral Ogaden clan. The Ogaden, Ali recounts, have been forced to accept refuge with the clans that defeated them, especially the Habr Yunis, and cannot take revenge. The Isaq are portrayed as particularly callous and shameful in the way they parade looted Ogaden camels in front of their previous owners. Even in translation it is a very evocative poem".
B. W. Andrzejewski author of "A Somali Poetic Combat" writes :
 During the period of administrative chaos which followed the war the Isaaq used their superior strength against both the Ogaadeen and the Dhulbahante. They looted many Ogaadeen herds, captured some of their wells and water-ponds, and dislodged them from a large part of their grazing areas in the Hawd. The Isaaq onslaught was so powerful that the Ogaadeen could put up little or no resistance, and did not even try to avenge their wrongs. Some of the clans, however, after being looted and pushed southward, developed a modus vivendi with the Isaaq and intermarried with them.
In his book "The Galla in Northern Somaliland" Ioan Lewis states :
 The southwards expansion of the Somali from the shores of the Gulf of Aden still continues despite the establishment of international frontiers and Administrative control. It is very evident in the Northern Province of Kenya, and in the British Protectorate the Isaaq now appear to be pushing outside the territory at the expense of the Darod into the Ogaden and Haud.
The Habr Yunis advance into Ogaden territory was eventually halted by the intervention of the British protectrate authorities with assistance from the Ethiopian Empire, who considered the Ogaden their subjects and whose safety was their priority. In one incident the Habar Yunis looted 1330 camels from the Ogaden, but were pressured by the British and the Ethiopians to return the camels to their previous owners. The Habr Yunis obliged and promised to desist in their raids, but despite their promise they continued to successfully raid the Ogadens unhindered up until the British ceded the Haud to Ethiopia.
Dervish period.
The Garhajis clan played a prominent role in the inception of the Dervish movement and its subsequent struggle against the British Empire. Among the prominent members of the Dervish was the Sultan of the Habar Yunis, Nur Ahmed Aman. Nur was the principle agitator that rallied the dervish behind his anti-French Catholic Mission campaign that would become the cause of the dervish uprise.
The news of the incident that sparked the Dervish rebellion and the 21 years disturbance according to the consul-general James Hayes Sadler was either spread or as he alleged was concocted by Sultan Nur of the Habr Yunis. The incident in question was that of a group of Somali children that were converted to Christianity and adopted by the French Catholic Mission at Berbera in 1899. Whether Sultan Nur experienced the incident first hand or whether he was told of it is not clear but what is known is that he propagated the incident in the Tariqa at Kob Fardod in June 1899 precipitating the religious rebellion that later morphed into the Somali Dervish.
Sultan Nur leading his Dervish clansmen participated in numerous battles against the British. These confrontations took place at Samala, Ferdidin, Erigo, Daratoleh and Gumburu the last two battles Nur was fully tasked commanding the fights the Mullah been abcent from the battle secene , these two battles strained the relationship between Nur and the young Mullah. An. In 1899 Sultan Nur was among the top five (Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, Haji Sudi, Deria Arrale and Deria Gure) wanted leaders of the movement.
Before dispatching forces to face the Dervish at Samala, Consul-General Hayes Salder made the following instructions to the overall commander of the forces Eric John Eagles Swayne:
In the unlikely event of the: Mullah offering to surrender, in his case and that of the Following: Haji Sudi, Deria Arale, Deria Gure Only an unconditional surrender should be accepted no guarantee of any kind to future treatment been given. Sultan Nur the , sultan of the Habr Yunis, may be guaranteed his life." J. Hayes-Sadler, His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, Somali Coast Protectorate. Aden April 11, 1901."
Despite confronting Nur in many battles the British failed in their mission to capture or kill him. Gabriel Ferrand, the Vice-Council of France following these events observed that:
 Neither the Mahdi nor his chief advisor Ahmed Warsama, better known under the name Haji Sudi, nor the Sultan Nur, leader of the Habr Younis clan were killed or captured. The optimism of Colonel Sadler and Lieutenant-Colonel Swayne in the latest reports relating to military operations is inexplicable."
In 1904 the Dervish state entered into talks with Italy and both parties agreed to sign a peace treaty, this treaty came to be known as "the Pestalozza agreement". Sultan Nur and his brother Geele Ahmed were among the signatories of the Pestalozza agreement between Italy and the Dervish state in 1905. In the original Arabic document the following signatures appear - "sultan Nur Ahmed" (the chief dervish sultan) and his brother "Geele Ahmed" (Kila Ahmed), "Ugas Diria Arabe" and "Ugas Issa Farek".
The last intelligence report mention of Sultan Nur in the Italian archives was in 1907. After the death of sultan Nur 1907/1908 in the dervish camp at Taleh his son Dolal sultan Nur ascended the sultanate in the dervish camp.
Sultan Nur was buried by his dervish in a large domed tomb in Taleh, his tomb predated the later dervish forts. His white tomb in the dervish capital is a testimony to his contribution to the movement. Few dervish founders are commemorated in Taleh, numbering only four.
William Archibald Macfadyen, a British geologist and the only scholar to study the structures of Taleh fort, mentioned the handful of tombs constructed by the dervish for their leaders and gave a detailed description of the tombs in 1931. In his article Macfayden only identified Sultan Nur's tomb by name out of the four dervish entombed in Taleh:
"South of the main cave-well is the considerable tomb of Abdullah Hasan senior, well plastered inside and out; it is now said to be empty. Adjoining this on the west is a walled garden with massive gateway and guard-house; the rest of the wall is not more than 5 feet high and plastered. There are still odd bushes and signs of cultivation to be seen, but the comparatively deep well in the middle is dry. To the east lies a row of four tombs. The most northerly is that of oneSoldan Nur of the Habr Yunis tribe; the next two, neither being plastered.and the first with the top left unfinished, are those of Hawiya notables whosenames my Somalis did not know. The most southerly tomb is that of aman of the Habr Jaalo tribe. The isolated tomb still farther east is that of'AbdullahHasan's mother. All the tombs are provided with narrow but very massive wooden doors, swinging about vertical extensions from top and baseof one side."
The Habr Yunis sub-clans that joined the Dervish were the Musa Ismail (Gadwein), the Sa'ad Yunis and sections of Sultan Nur's own sub-clan, the Hersi Osman. The Gadwein Dervishes who were located in coastal Sanaag and the towns of Midisho and Jidali created complications for the Warsengeli Sultanate, who they regularly raided. The Warsengeli who were at that time allied with the British called for their assistance. Consequently, in 1912 the British sent the warship HMS Philomel and shelled the Gadwein Dervishes, pushing them from the coast and inland towards Las Dureh. The Dervish forces of Sanaag were supplied with arms and munitions by two Habr Yunis men of the Musa Arreh clan, namely, Haji Hirsi of Maydh and Bulhan Ali, they both operated with in Yemen, the former being stationed at Mukalla and the latter at Aden. Both were Ottoman agents and were accused by Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire of instigating attacks on Las Khorey. Among the prominent Sa'ad Yunis Dervish was Haji Yusuf, popularly known as "Taminlaaye", he was in charge of the Sanaag division of the Dervish army. The British put a bounty on his head and his name appeared in the 1919 most wanted Dervish list published by the British, alongside him appeared the names of other Isaaq clan members such as Haji Sudi, Ibrahim Boghol, Ibraahim Gioode and Deria Arale.
Though some sections of the Garhajis supported the Dervish movement at the time of its inception, like many other Dervish allied clans they became disillusioned with the movement towards the end. After the Bombing campaign of the Taleh fort and the Dervish retreat into Ethiopia, Tribal Chief Haji Mohammad Bullaleh (Haji the Hyena) who hailed from the Rer Ainanshe clan of the Habr Yunis, commanded a 3000 strong army that consisted of Habr Yunis, Habr Je'lo and Dhulbahante warriors and pursued the fleeing Dervishes. They attacked Muhammad Abdallah Hassan and his army in the Ogaden region and swiftly defeated them, causing Muhammad to flee to the town of Imi. Haji and his army looted 60,000 livestock and 700 rifles from the dervishes, which dealt a severe blow to them economically, a blow from which they did not recover. The Garhajis, especially the Habr Yunis, had a hand in the birth and the eventual demise of the Dervish state.
Burao Tax Revolt and RAF bombing.
Sections of the Habr Yunis once again clashed with the British in 1922 after a heavy tax was imposed upon them at Burao, the Hersi Osman clan revolted in opposition to the tax and this caused them to clash with other sections of the Habr Yunis and the British colonial government. In the ensuing riot and shootout between the British and Hersi Osman, Captain Allan Gibb, a Dervish war veteran and district commissioner, was shot and killed. The British fearing they could not contain the revolt requested from Sir Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, to send troops from Aden and Airplane bombers in order to bomb Burao and livestock of the revolting clans to quell any further rebellion. The RAF planes arrived at Burao within two days and proceeded to Bomb the town with incendiaries, effectively burning the entire settlement to the ground.
Telegram from Sir Geoffrey Archer, Governor of British Somaliland to Sir Winston Churchill the Secretary of State for the Colonies:
I deeply regret to inform that during an affray at Burao yesterday between Rer Sugulleh and Akils of other tribes Captain Gibb was shot dead. Having called out Camel corps company to quell the disturbance, he went forward himself with his interperter, whereupon fire opened on him by some Rer segulleh riflemen and he was instantly killed..Miscreants then dissapered under the cover of darkness.
In order to meet the situation created by the Murder of Gibb, we require two aeroplanes for about fourteen days. I have arranged with resident, Aden, for these. And made formal application, which please confirm. It is proposed they fly via Perim, confining sea crossing to 12 miles. We propose to inflict fine of 2,500 camels on implicated sections, who are practically isolated and demand surrender of man who killed Gibbs. He is known. Fine to be doubled in failure to comply with latter conditions and aeroplanes to be used to bomb stock on grazing grounds.
Sir Winston Churchill reporting on the Burao incident at the House of Commons:
On 25th February the Governor of Somaliland telegraphed that an affray between tribesmen had taken place at Burao on the previous day, in the course of which Captain Allan Gibb, D.S.O., D.C.M., the District Commissioner at Burao, had been shot dead. Captain Gibb had advanced with his interpreter to quell the disturbance, when 1954 fire was opened upon him by some riflemen, and he was instantly killed. The murderers escaped under cover of falling darkness.
Captain Gibb was an officer of long and valued service in Somaliland, whose loss I deeply regret. From the information available, his murder does not appear to have been premeditated, but it inevitably had a disturbing effect upon the surrounding tribes, and immediate dispositions of troops became necessary in order to ensure the apprehension and punishment of those responsible for the murder. On 27th February the Governor telegraphed that, in order to meet the situation which had arisen, he required two aeroplanes for purposes of demonstration, and suggested that two aeroplanes from the Royal Air Force Detachment at Aden should fly over to Berber a from Aden. He also telegraphed that in certain circumstances it might become necessary to ask for reinforcements of troops to be sent to the Protectorate.
James Lawrence author of "Imperial Rearguard: Wars of Empire" writes
[Gibb]..was murdered by rioters during a protest against taxation at Burao. Governor Archer immediately called for aircraft which were at Burao within two days. The inhabitants of the native township were turned out of their houses, and the entire area was razed by a combination of bombing, machine-gun fire and burning.
After the RAF aircraft bombed Burao to the ground, the Hersi Osman eventually acquiesced, agreeing to pay a fine for Gibbs death, but they refused to identify and apprehend the accused individuals. Most of the men responsible for Gibb's shooting evaded capture. In light of the failure to implement the taxation without provoking a violent response, the British abandoned the policy altogether.
Somali civil war and the Somali National Movement.
The Somali National Movement (SNM) was a 1980s–1990s rebel group. The SNM was organized in London, England, on April 6, 1981 by Hassan Adan Wadadid a former Somali diplomat and several other Isaaq intellectuals, he stated that the group's purpose was to overthrow the Siaad Barre regime. The SNM gathered its main base of support from members of the Isaaq clan, who formed and supported the movement in response to years of systematic discrimination by the Siaad Barre government.
Members of the Garhajis clan made up a significant portion of the leadership and soldiers of the SNM. Garhajis members served twice as Chairman of the movement, with Colonel Abdiqadir Kosar Abdi and Abdirahman Tuur and once as Vice chairman with Hassan Adan Wadadid. Garhajis Commanders carried out many successful operations that led to the decisive victory of the group and to the downfall of the Siad Barre regime. Such operations included the Birjeex raid led by Colonel Ibrahim Koodbuur and Operation Mandheera led by Mohamed Hashi Lihle Lixle where they successfully freed hundreds of Isaaq political prisoners whose executions were imminent.
Under the leadership of Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur the SNM carried out a successful invasion of Northern Somalia overthrowing the Communist regime and establishing the democratic state of Somaliland. Abdirahman was sworn in as Somaliland's first president.
List of Garhajis SNM leaders:
Eidagale.
The Eidagale (, which translates to "army joiner") are the traditional holders of the Isaaq Sultanate since the 18th century. The Isaaq Sultanate was established in the mid-18th century by Sultan Guled Abdi Eisa of the Eidagale clan. His coronation took place after the legendary warrior Abdi Eisa led the Isaaq to victory in the battle of Lafaruug and defeated the Absame tribes, permanently pushing them out of present-day Maroodi Jeex region. After witnessing his leadership skills, noble conduct and valiance, the Isaaq chiefs recognized him as their Grand Sultan but Abdi instead put forward his son Guled. Guled's Sultanate predates the Habr Yunis Sultanate, which broke off from Eidagale tutelage several decades after the start of his rule. Sultan Guled ruled the Isaaq from the 1750s up until his death in the early 19th century, where he was succeeded by his eldest son Farah. Sultan Farah further expanded the influence of the Sultanate by establishing ties with various Muslim polities across the Gulf, particularly the Al-Qasimi family whom he corresponded with in regard to military action against the British Navy who blockaded Berbera and temporarily cut off vital trade.
For centuries, the tomb of saint Aw Barkhadle, which is located between Berbera and Hargeisa, was used by the Isaaq clans to settle disputes and to swear oaths of alliances under a holy relic attributed to Bilal Ibn Rabah. As traditional leaders of the Isaaq clans, the Eidagale placed themselves as mediators during the disputes.
When any grave question arises affecting the interests of the Isaakh tribe in general. On a paper yet carefully preserved in the tomb, and bearing the sign-manual of Belat [Bilal], the slave of one of the early khaleefehs, fresh oaths of lasting friendship and lasting alliances are made...In the season of 1846 this relic was brought to Berbera in charge of the Haber Gerhajis, and on it the rival tribes of Aial Ahmed and Aial Yunus swore to bury all animosity and live as brethren.
The Eidagale were renowned for their equestrian skills, and their devastating raids extended between the coast and the interior. According to Swayne, who traversed through Somaliland in the late 19th century, the Eidagale were amongst the clans most addicted to raiding:
The tribes near the northern coast most addicted to raiding appear to be the Jibril Abokor sub-tribe of the Habr Awal, the Mahamud Gerad Dolbahanta, and the Eidagalla, Habr Gerhajis.
Apart from their equestrian skills, the Eidagale are also famed for their eloquence in traditional Somali poetry (gabay), producing many famous poets such as Abdi Gahayr, Xasan Tarabi, and Elmi Boodhari. Historically, the Eidagale were viewed as "the recognized experts in the composition of poetry" by their fellow Somali contemporaries:
Among the tribes, the Eidagalla are the recognized experts in the composition of poetry. One individual poet of the Eidagalla may be no better than a good poet of another tribe, but the Eidagalla appear to have more poets than any other tribe. "if you had a hundred Eidagalla men here," Hersi Jama once told me, "And asked which of them could sing his own gabei ninety-five would be able to sing. The others would still be learning."
For centuries, the Eidagale (along with their Habar Yunis kin) were influential stakeholders in the long-distance Somali caravan trade. Eidagale merchants procured various goods from the Somali Region in present-day Ethiopia, such as livestock, acacia gum, myrrh and ghee, which were subsequently exported to Southern Arabia. The Eidagale caravan merchants founded several inland trade entrepôts in the interior, which also includes the modern city of Hargeisa, founded in the 19th century as a caravan junction between Berbera and the Somali interior.
Somalis of the Habr Gerhajis tribe arrive from Ogadain with feathers, myrrh, gum, sheep, cattle, and ghee, carrying away in exchange piece goods; they also make four trips in the season; they remain for less than a month, and during their stay reside with fellow-tribesmen, taking their meals in the mokhbâzah or eating-house.
Habr Yunis.
The Habr Yunis Sultanate was a Somali Kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kingdom's territory encompassed the lands settled by the Habr Yunis tribe of the Garhajis clan. The Habr Yunis Sultans received a tax in the form of an annual tribute of livestock from their subjects and they regularly taxed the trade caravans that went through their territory. Moreover, the sultanate had a significant standing army which was used to enforce the taxation, as well as to defend their realm.
The first Habr Yunis chief to assume the title Sultan was Sugulleh Ainanshe of the Ismail Arrah clan, his father Ainanshe was a traditional chief. Sugulleh was succeeded by his son Diriyeh Sugule in the late 18th century. Sultan Diriyeh reigned for more than 50 years and was eventually succeeded by his grandson Hersi Aman. Hersi is most notable for expanding Habr Yunis territory in the Haud and for engaging the first Rer Sugulleh civil war which resulted in his death. Sultan Hersi's death caused a decade-long civil war when his nephew Nur was crowned Sultan and his great uncle Awad Sultan Deriyeh and eldest living son of sultan Deriyeh declared himself a rival sultan in 1881. The two Sultans were now at war with each other and divided the Kingdoms territory between themselves, with Nur being based in the Toyo plains and Awd establishing himself at Burao. In the 1890s Sultan Awad was killed in a battle which resulted in Sultan Nur facing no opposition and was the sole ruler of the Habr Yunis Sultanate up until he started the Dervish uprising, which resulted in his uncle Madar Hersi being crowned. The Habr Yunis were now divided into two factions: pro-Dervish and anti-Dervish, the former being ruled by Sultan Nur and the latter the newly crowned Sultan Madar. After Nur's death in the Dervish camp, the Habr Yunis elders crowned his son Dolal, and with the Dervish defeat none of his heirs succeeded him leaving Madar's descendants as the undisputed Sultans of the Habr Yunis.
Clan Tree.
A summarized clan family tree of the major Garhajis subclan of Habar Yunis is presented below.


Msiri

Msiri (c. 1830 – December 20, 1891) founded and ruled the Yeke Kingdom (also called the Garanganze or Garenganze kingdom) in south-east Katanga (now in DR Congo) from about 1856 to 1891. His name is sometimes spelled 'M'Siri' in articles in French. Other variants are "Mziri", "Msidi", and "Mushidi"; and his full name was Mwenda Msiri Ngelengwa Shitambi.
Msiri's origins and rise to power.
From Tabora to Katanga.
Msiri was a Nyamwezi from Tabora in modern-day Tanzania and a trader, like his father Kalasa, involved in the copper, ivory and East African slave trade controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar and his Arab and Swahili agents. The main trade route went to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika and then to Lake Mweru and Katanga.
Military power.
Msiri realised access to guns was the key to power, and in Katanga, he had copper and ivory resources to trade for them. He formed a militia and started to conquer his neighbours. He also married into the Luba royal family, starting his practice of using wives as spies.
He depended on the east coast trade for his guns and gunpowder, which passed through the territory of his rivals, making supplies expensive and unreliable. Instead he turned to the west coast, sending his nephew Molenga to the Ovimbundu and Portuguese traders around Benguela in Angola, and a trader there called Coimbra became his supplier. The Luba people to his north-west had controlled the west coast trade, but Msiri took it over and halted their southwards expansion.
Msiri now had the power and influence to form alliances as more of an equal with warlords such as Tippu Tip, who controlled the eastern Congo from Lake Tanganyika up to what is now Uganda in the north-east, and the Nyamwezi leader Mirambo who controlled the land route between Lake Tanganyika and the coast, and he sought to emulate them. Msiri achieved what other tribes and the Portuguese had tried without as much success, which was to trade across the continent, with both coasts.
By the time of David Livingstone's visit to Mwata Kazembe VIII in 1867, Msiri had taken control of most of the Mwata's territory and trade on the west bank of the Luapula River. Tippu Tip wanted revenge on Kazembe for killing six of his men, and he formed an alliance with Msiri to attack and kill Mwata Kazembe in 1870, and Msiri subsequently influenced the appointment of his successors. Msiri's control of south-east Katanga and its copper resources was consolidated.
Msiri's strategy.
In a region and age dominated by armed traders, Msiri was very successful. His control of the trade routes between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans took ruthlessness and arms (and over his neighbours, Msiri had what would be called in the west ‘superior military technology’). But it also took a strategic eye, and the guile and persuasion required to form alliances with hundreds of other tribes, rulers and traders. He did this through his wives, who numbered more than 500. He took a wife from the village of each subordinate chief, making the chief think this gave him an advocate at Msiri's court, but the wife was used to spy on the chief instead and to obtain information about his dealings and loyalty. The wife could also be used as a hostage in case of any rebellion by that chief.
Msiri also cemented alliances with other powerful trading partners through marriage. His favourite wife was said to be Maria de Fonseca, sister of his Portuguese-Angolan trading partner Coimbra. Msiri married one of his own daughters to Tippu Tip.
In 1884, wishing to gain some advice on how to deal with the approaching European colonial powers, he invited a Scottish missionary, Frederick Stanley Arnot, who he had heard was in Angola, to come to his capital at Bunkeya, 180 km west of the Luapula River. In 1886 Arnot arrived and was the first white person to settle in Katanga. After three years he went back to Britain to recruit more missionaries, including Charles Swan and Dan Crawford.
Thus, the first missionaries in Katanga did not decide to go there at their own initiative. Msiri's strategy worked: the missionaries' advice prevented him being taken in by the first British and Belgian expeditions (see below). It is also possible that Msiri had the idea to hold the missionaries hostage in case of any war with the Europeans, in the same way that he held hostage the women of subject tribes.
The scramble for Katanga and killing of Msiri.
British Expeditions (Sharpe and Thomson), 1890.
Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company (BSAC) and Belgian King Leopold II’s Congo Free State (CFS) both wanted to sign treaties with Msiri to fulfil their colonial ambitions and competed to do so. Some of Msiri's subordinate chiefs and trading competitors took the opportunity of the arrival of new powers in the region to start rebellions against his authority. In November 1890 Alfred Sharpe arrived in Bunkeya from Nyasaland on behalf of the BSAC and the British Commissioner in Central Africa/Nyasaland, Sir Harry Johnston, with a mineral rights concession and a British protectorate treaty for signature. The explorer Joseph Thomson was sent by the BSAC to meet up with and reinforce Sharpe's mission in Bunkeya, but its route was blocked by a smallpox epidemic and it could not continue.
Arnot was still in Britain but Charles Swan and Dan Crawford were present. Msiri and his officials could not read English and Sharpe described the agreement favourably, but Arnot had advised Msiri to have any treaties translated, and Swan now gave the same advice. For this the missionaries were later the subject of resentment and anger on behalf of the BSAC, because when the treaty's real contents were revealed to Msiri, enraged, he sent Sharpe away empty-handed. Sharpe was sure Msiri would not sign away his sovereignty to any other power, and he advised Johnston to wait until he was 'out of the way'.
Belgian Expeditions (Le Marinel and Delcommune), 1891.
On 18 April 1891 Leopold sent an expedition of about 350 men led by Paul Le Marinel. He obtained a brief letter signed by Msiri and witnessed by Swan (and probably drafted by him), that Msiri would accept CFS agents in his territory. It did not mention agreeing to the CFS flag being hoisted nor to recognising Leopold's sovereignty, and its lack of precision was probably designed to keep Leopold at bay, so a few months later the Delcommune Expedition followed up to try to achieve those objectives, but again Msiri refused. Expecting that the BSAC would try again with Thomson, Leopold resolved to take stronger action with his third expedition of 1891.
The Stairs Expedition and the killing of Msiri.
On December 14, 1891 the armed Stairs Expedition of the CFS arrived in Bunkeya with 400 troops and porters, led by Canadian mercenary, Captain W. G. Stairs, ordered by Leopold to raise the CFS flag and claim Katanga by force if necessary. Negotiations commenced and Msiri indicated he might agree to a treaty if supplied with gunpowder.
According to the Stairs Expedition's doctor Joseph Moloney and third officer Christian de Bonchamps, with negotiations at stalemate, Msiri reacted to an ultimatum and to Stairs flying the CFS flag without his consent, by departing in the night to a fortified village at Munema on the outskirts of Bunkeya. The next day, 20 December 1891, Stairs sent his second-in-command, Belgian Lieutenant Omer Bodson with de Bonchamps and 100 askaris to arrest Msiri. Despite de Bonchamps' concerns about the danger, Bodson went into Munema with a dozen men and confronted Msiri in front of about 300 of his warriors. Msiri said nothing but in anger started to draw the sword which had been a gift from Stairs. Bodson drew his revolver and shot Msiri three times, killing him. A fight erupted, and Bodson was shot and mortally wounded by one of Msiri's men, dying later.
The oral history of the Garanganze people contains some contradictions about the incident. In one story, Msiri speared Bodson to death and was shot by other members of the expedition.
The fate of Msiri's head.
In an article published in Paris in 1892, de Bonchamps revealed that having carried Msiri's body back to their camp, the expedition cut off his head and hoisted it on a pole as a 'barbaric lesson' to the Garanganze. Moloney's book is silent on the subject. Dan Crawford was at a Belgian outpost 40 km away and, relying on a Garanganze report, he wrote that after shooting Msiri, 'Bodson' cut off his head and shouted "I have killed a tiger! Vive le Roi!".
Garanganze oral history says that the body returned to them by Stairs for burial was headless, and that the expedition kept the head. One account says that it cursed and killed everyone who carried it and eventually, this included Stairs himself, who died of malaria six months later on the return journey, and it was alleged he had with him Msiri's head in a can of kerosene. The history of Msiri's successors says that the head was buried under a hill of stones in Zambia, but it also says Msiri's successor 'caught and killed all the Europeans on the expedition'.
In 1998 Congolese artist Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu said:
Katanga after Msiri.
The expedition's askaris massacred many of Msiri's people that day at Munema, and the population dispersed. On condition he sign CFS treaties, Stairs installed Msiri's adopted son as chief in his place but of a much reduced area, and restored the Wasanga chieftainships which Msiri had overthrown 30 years before. The Stairs Expedition left after seven weeks when another CFS expedition (the Bia Expedition) arrived from north. It was too small to maintain effective control, and moved to eastern Katanga. Left without any CFS troops to keep the peace, disorder and instability occupied the vacuum left by Msiri for some time as the chiefs fought among themselves, and Dan Crawford moved to Lake Mweru and set up a mission to which many Garanganze moved to escape the strife.
The British accepted the Congo Free State's possession of Katanga (the administration of which Leopold vested in the Compagnie du Katanga) and an Anglo-Belgian agreement was signed in 1894. The slave trade from south-east Katanga to Lake Tanganyika declined, though in the Congo Free State slavery as practiced by King Leopold II's agents did not end until after the country was taken over by the Belgian state in 1908. Some of the Garanganze people returned to Bunkeya and continued the Garanganze chieftaincy which, despite internal exile for some years, continues to this day, using the name 'Mwami Mwenda' after Msiri's first name, ruling a population of about 20,000.
Evaluation.
According to one European source:
Cruel punishments.
Msiri was said to punish his enemies and other miscreants by mutilation (cutting off ears), burial up to the neck and being left to starve, or being shut up in a hut to be eaten by a pack of starving dogs. Execution by beheading was certainly carried out, as witnessed by the heads placed on poles. Ironically the Stairs expedition meted out the same treatment to Msiri himself (and Leopold's regime in the Congo Free State hung heads and bodies of villagers on fences as a warning to others of what happened to those who did not fulfil their rubber quota).
Msiri's capital Bunkeya and surrounding villages had a population estimated at 60,000–80,000 in 1891. A year after Msiri's death, it was 10,000–20,000. In that part of Africa people disperse into the bush when threatened. For instance, David Livingstone reported twenty years earlier that Mwata Kazembe VIII Chinkonkole Kafuti so tyrannised his people that many had moved away, and he could muster scarcely 1000 men. Continuing the contrast with Msiri, when the assassins sent by Msiri and Tippu Tib advanced on his boma, Chinkonkole Kafuti's people did not warn him, but let him be taken by surprise.
Arnot's description of Msiri.
Of the contemporary written accounts of Msiri, all were by or based on accounts of people in the pay of either Leopold or the BSAC, the only exception being Arnot and his missionary colleagues, the closest there were to neutral observers. Arnot referred to Msiri as "a thorough gentleman," and established a working relationship with him, with a certain amount of mutual respect. Msiri gave Arnot land to build his own hut, a small clinic, a church, and a school. When Arnot returned to London he recruited three more missionaries to go to Msiri in Bunkeya.
Arnot's diaries say of living in Bunkeya:
The Stairs Expedition's reports.
A political quotations website offers these as the last words of Omer Bodson:
Moloney, the Stairs Expedition's doctor, wrote up his account on his return to London in 1892. Influenced by the writings of men such as Livingstone, public opinion in Britain began to clamor for reforms which benefited the indigenous subjects of the British Empire. Moloney noted that Msiri had his "apologists" in London. King Leopold had to legitimise his Congo Free State's claim to Katanga under the Berlin Conference's Principle of Effectivity, so a justification for the killing of Msiri was required. The Stairs Expedition's reports were used in Europe to emphasise self-defence as the reason for his death, coupled with the claim he was a bloodthirsty tyrant. Moloney's quotation of Bodson's dramatic dying words helped in this respect.
The question remains as to whether Msiri was being described as a bloodthirsty tyrant to the same extent before he was killed, when his signature to a treaty was being assiduously courted by the imperial powers.


Battle of Atchoukpa

The Battle of Atchoukpa was fought on 20 April 1890 near the town of Atchoukpa during the First Franco-Dahomean War. A French force of 350 troops under Colonel Terrillon, briefly assisted by 500 of King Toffa's warriors, fought off a force of 7,000 Dahomey warriors and 2,000 amazons under King Béhanzin who were set to march on Porto-Novo.
The Battle of Atchoukpa was the last major engagement of the First Franco-Dahomean War.
Background.
The First Franco-Dahomean War had technically began on 21 April 1890 when the French arrested several Dahomey officials in Cotonou, as a result of Dahomey attacks on the French protectorate of Porto-Novo. On 4 March, a massive Dahomey attack of Cotonou was repulsed after a bloody battle.
On 15 April 1890, King Béhanzin's army crossed the Ouémé River. Burning down many villages on their path, they marched toward Porto-Novo and eventually set camp a few miles North from the city.
On 20 April at 6:00 am, a French column of 350 men, composed of Troupes de marines and Senegalese Tirailleurs companies, set off from Porto-Novo to face the Dahomey army. They were accompanied by 500 local Porto-Novo warriors.
The Battle.
A little after 7:30 am, King Toffa's warriors, who were marching ahead of the French column, came under Dahomey fire at the entrance of the village of Atchoukpa. The brief fusillade, which killed 8 of them and wounded many more, immediatly sent them into a rout.
The forwardmost French company, under Captain Arnoux, deployed itself to cover the retreat of Toffa's warriors as they ran in panick toward Porto-Novo. The Dahomey army came out of the village and directed itself toward the French, which prompted Colonel Terrillon to order his men to form infantry squares.
For over an hour, Béhanzin's army, composed of 7,000 warriors and 2,000 "Amazons", unsuccessfully clashed with French squares, through repeated charges. Superior French firepower and discipline kept each of their attacks at bay, inflicting upon them devastating casualties.
At around 9:00 am, King Béhanzin, seeing that his warriors were failing to inflict any damages on the French squares, took the decision to send a detachment to bypass them in order to burn down Porto-Novo while his main army kept the French engaged. However, Colonel Terrillon immediatly took notice of the manoeuvre and ordered his squares to direct themselves toward the detachment. As soon as the Dahomey detachment came within firing range, the French unleashed a storm of bullets that instantly routed the Dahomey party.
The fighting went on for about another hour, as French squares kept slowly withdrawing toward Porto-Novo to ensure no further attempt to bypass them would occur. Near 10:00 am, Béhanzin finally ordered the retreat, giving up on his plans to attack Porto-Novo.
Aftermath.
French casualties amounted to 33 wounded: one officer, 15 white French troops and 17 Senegalese tirailleurs. King Toffa's warriors had lost 8 killed and 20 wounded in their brief engagement at the beginning of the battle. Dahomey losses were much heavier, as they had lost over 1,500 killed or wounded in the fighting.
The Battle of Atchoukpa was the last major engagement of the First Franco-Dahomean War, and King Béhanzin would make no further attempts on Porto-Novo. On the next day, the French sent small reconnaissance parties that found out that all of Béhanzin's forces had left the surroundings of the city entirely and withdrawn beyond the Ouémé River.


Babatunde Adewale Ajayi

Babatunde Adéwálé Àjàyí is a Nigeria monarch. He is the 19th and current Akarigbo of Remo Land , Confederation of towns in ogun state.
Early life.
Born on December 5, 1962 to the Royal Torungunwa Ruling House of Sagamu, Oba Ajayi, obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences at the University of Ibadan between 1981 and 1984 and an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1989. He is an expert in Insolvency and Restructuring spanning over 20 years.
The new Akarigbo also enrolled for a Law course at the University of Calabar in 1991 and graduated with LLB degree in 1997. He is happily married with children.
Kingship.
Babatunde Àjàyí was elected as the new king after being emerge victorious over the 17 other contestants to succeed the previous king Oba Micheal Sonariwo who died in July, 2016
After casting of votes by the kingmakers which included Chief Rasak Akinyemi Salami (Lisa), Chief Abdul Wasiu Awofala (Losi), Chief Taiwo Sule ( Oluwo Odofin), Chief Lamidi Olaitan Adesanya (Apena), Chief Ogunyemi Tijani Adesina (Ogbeni odi), Chief Kolawole Odumuyiwa ( Balogun)and Olotu Omoba JAS Adekunle ( Olotu Omoba Akarigbo),  the new Akarigbo emerged after polling five votes, with Prof. Babatunde Ogunmola, trailing him with two votes, while other 17 nominees had no vote.
The election was supervised by the Secretary to Sagamu Local Government, Adewale Fakoya, who after reeling out the names of the 19 nominees to the kingmakers, requested them to cast their votes for the candidate of their choice.
Anthony Joshua visit.
The world heavy weight boxer Anthony Joshua visit his hometown, Sagamu in February 2020. He however pay a visit to the Akarigbo of Remo Land