Politics of Rhodesia

Rhodesia had limited democracy in the sense that it had the Westminster parliamentary system with multiple political parties contesting the seats in parliament, but as the voting was dominated by the White settler minority, and Black Africans only had a minority level of representation at that time, it was regarded internationally as a racist country.
The political party that held sway in the years after the unilateral declaration of independence was the Rhodesian Front, later known as the Republican Front. Ian Smith remained as Prime Minister until the country became Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979.
Political system.
1961 constitution.
From 1899 to 1962 the unicameral Legislative Assembly comprised members elected to represent constituencies on a first past the post principle. At some stages, however, there were two-member constituencies, and in the early years there were some appointed members. Under the Constitution, there was provision for the establishment of an upper house to be known as the Legislative Council, but none was ever established. The 1961 Constitution adopted a more complex system intended to extend the franchise to wider sections of the community including non-whites – but without immediately bringing white rule to an end.
At the time of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Rhodesia's amended 1961 Constitution (which was annexed to the UDI) provided for an Officer Administering the Government, to be appointed by Parliament if the Queen did not appoint a Governor-General. Political power continued to reside with the Legislative Assembly.
Under the 1961 Constitution, the Legislative Assembly had 65 elected members: 50 constituency members and 15 district members. The voter rolls had education, property and income qualifications. The main A roll was for citizens who satisfied high standards in these regards and 95% of its members were white and 5% were black or Asian. The B roll had lower qualification standards and 90% of its members were black and 10% were white or Asian. The B roll was about one-tenth of the size of the A roll. Both rolls voted in elections for constituencies and districts, but for elections in the constituencies, the B roll vote was capped at 20% of the total, and for elections in the districts, the A roll vote was capped at 20% of the total. This procedure was known as 'cross-voting'. In practice, the 50 constituency members would all be white and the 15 district members would mostly be black.
The 1962 general election was a watershed for the country, since it resulted in the election of a Rhodesian Front government led by Winston Field that was committed to independence without majority rule and to the continued separate development of white and black communities in Rhodesia. The defeated United Federal Party led by Edgar Whitehead had been committed to slowly progress to majority rule.
There was no explicit racial discrimination in the Rhodesian political system before 1969. It is sometimes claimed that had the black community participated more fully in the political process then the outcome of the 1962 general election would have been different and UDI would have been avoided. African nationalist groups objected to the 1961 constitution and urged those eligible to vote not to register, and those that had registered not to vote. Relatively few eligible Africans did register to vote, and B-roll voter turnout in the 1962 election was less than 25%.
The Rhodesians maintained the system was broadly fair since the 50/15 power share split reflected the relative contributions of white and black communities to the "fisc" (that is, the tax take). Progress to black majority rule was possible within the arrangement of the 1961 constitution as a result of advances in black wealth and education, although it would have taken some years to achieve. It would have required the black community to patiently accept an extended period of white minority rule followed by an extended period of power sharing. Black politicians in the early 1960s were not minded to accept such an arrangement. In any event, income and property qualifications for the electoral roll had become an anachronism.
Ian Smith and other Rhodesians claimed that this political arrangement would have resulted in an evolutionary transition to black majority rule which would have avoided the rushed transition that had caused difficulty in other African countries. But critics maintain that the stubborn refusal to make immediate and visible progress to majority rule in the early 1960s set in train events which are causing serious trouble in modern Zimbabwe to this day.
In 1965 there were revisions to the Constitution that reflected the new status of the nation after UDI. Primarily, the revisions erased the rights of the British Government to legislate and act on behalf of Rhodesia, and provided for further constitutional amendments on a two-thirds majority of parliament. The Officer Administering the Government was to be the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces.
1969 (UDI) Constitution.
The Rhodesian Front government eventually drafted a completely new constitution. This further entrenched white minority rule and made the country a republic, following a referendum result in favour in 1969. Under this new constitution, there was a bicameral Parliament consisting of an indirectly elected Senate of Rhodesia, and a directly elected House of Assembly of Rhodesia, in which the majority of seats were reserved for whites even more effectively than was the case under the Constitution of 1961. The new office of President was a ceremonial post, with executive power remaining with the Prime Minister.
The 1969 Constitution modified the detailed provision for electoral rolls and seats in the Assembly. The most significant 1969 modifications were that cross voting was abolished and the B roll was reserved for non-Europeans. The Assembly constituencies were reformed so that there were 50 A roll, and 8 B roll seats. It was provided that the number of B roll seats would rise over time in line with the proportion of total personal income tax paid by blacks until a total of 50 black seats was reached. In addition to the B roll seats, the African tribal chiefs were able to elect another 8 members. The immediate result of this arrangement was that 270,000 whites had 50 seats and 6 million Africans had 8 seats in the Assembly, with a handful of African chiefs having 8 seats as well.
The new Constitution gave a clear indication of where the architects of UDI thought Rhodesia should go in political terms. The concept of "separate development" for blacks and whites was written into that constitution. The concept of eventual parity of parliamentary representation between the races was also adopted. This last feature underpinned the concept of 'equal partnership between black and white' as an alternative to majority rule. However, the leaders of the UDI state made it clear that parity of representation could be deferred indefinitely, if not for ever. White immigration figures for the 1960s encouraged them to believe that it might be possible to significantly alter the demographic balance, given enough time.
Politics in Rhodesia.
The Rhodesian Front's victory in the 1962 general election and the subsequent UDI were in the populist tradition of Rhodesian politics. The early history of Rhodesian politics was very much one of the electoral uprisings by miners, industrial workers and farmers against the big business establishment that dominated the colony. The election of the Reform Party government led by Godfrey Huggins in 1933 had a great deal in common with the RF win in 1962. It has been argued that the racial dimension of UDI was an incidental thing. Economic recessions in the early 1930s and the early 1960s had both produced the election of populist governments committed to securing standards of living for working people (albeit, the immediate concern was for working white people). It is significant that in the 1962 election, the RF recruited a slate of black candidates to contest the district (essentially B roll) seats. Those black RF candidates obtained little support from the B roll electorate and none were elected.
Rhodesia in the UDI era never quite took on the character of a one-party state. Although the Bush War was the real political contest, there was a conventional political opposition to the RF throughout the UDI period.
The opposition came from white liberals who would contest A roll seats in general elections and from some black parties that would contest B roll seats. The main white opposition was the Rhodesia Party, associated with veteran liberal politician (and former district Assembly member) Dr Ahrn Palley. In the 1974 general election, Dr Palley came within 3 votes of taking Salisbury (City) from the RF. In that same election, Michael Auret took about 30% of the vote for the RP in Bulawayo (District). Auret later won Harare (Central) for the MDC in the Zimbabwe parliamentary elections, 2000.
The RP did manage to secure around 20% of the white vote nationally on a regular basis and it would pick up most of the non-white constituency votes, but the first-past-the-post electoral system meant that they never won seats in the Assembly. Widespread press censorship and government control of radio and TV inhibited opposition activity. The lack of an effective parliamentary opposition is one factor that made it difficult to end UDI when this measure had become clearly necessary.
RP activists considered that most of their support came from the business elite, the professional class and from second or third generation Rhodesians. The more recent white immigrants tended to vote overwhelmingly for the RF. It has been suggested that Rhodesia hosted a peculiar brand of white politics traceable to British working-class immigrants who during the 20th century brought their successful struggle for a generous social welfare state out to the colonies.
The RP group did not contest the 1977 general election because many of its activists had either been taken into one or other of various forms of detention or had been forced into exile. Michael Auret was expelled from Rhodesia in 1976 and told that he would be arrested immediately if he returned. Auret was unable to return home until 1980. The Rhodesian government was never tolerant of dissent throughout the UDI period, but it became positively repressive as the final debacle approached. The liberal former Prime Minister Garfield Todd and members of his family were subject to various forms of detention and house arrest.
The final political events in white Rhodesia were the 1977 general election and the 1979 referendum on extending equal voting rights to all citizens. An extreme right wing group known as the Rhodesian Action Party ('RAP') opposed the RF in the election and campaigned for a No vote in the referendum. The RAP group favoured a continuation of white minority rule and undertaking extreme military measures to win the Bush War. RAP attracted significant electoral support (15% of the referendum vote).
Some non-militant black groups and individuals contested and won B roll seats (often under the title "ANC Independent"). Under the 1969 constitution, the B roll was reserved exclusively for non-Europeans. This black political grouping was one of those that participated in the 1979 'internal settlement'. Association with the UDI state and with the internal settlement carried a collaborationist stigma that would damage the credibility of the black politicians involved.
The end of Rhodesia.
When white minority rule was no longer tenable, Rhodesia moved first to a form of power sharing ('the internal settlement') and then to majority rule. At this point Rhodesia ceased to exist as a political entity and was replaced by Zimbabwe.
The end of UDI and of the Bush War were associated with an abrupt transfer of power to the insurgent backed, black political parties in 1980. Some observers feel that this resulted in some of the more stable elements in black civil society being marginalised. Consequently, Zimbabwe was not able to enjoy benefits of a managed transfer to democracy of the kind that took place in comparable neighbouring countries such as Botswana and South Africa.


Tom Mboya Street

Tom Mboya Street (formerly Victoria Street), is one of the oldest streets in Nairobi. It is one of the major streets in the Central Business District of Nairobi.
History.
The initial plan of Nairobi included two wide streets, First Station Road and Victoria Street. The road was named after Queen Victoria, then head of state of the East Africa Protectorate. The street was renamed after Tom Mboya to honour and commemorate the assassinated politician. A monument in his honour is erected on Moi Avenue (formerly Government Road).
Landmarks include the Kenya National Archives.


Hans Merensky

Hans Merensky (16 March 1871 – 21 October 1952) was a South African geologist, prospector, scientist, conservationist and philanthropist. He discovered the rich deposit of alluvial diamonds at Alexander Bay in Namaqualand, vast platinum and chrome reefs at Lydenburg, Rustenburg and Potgietersrus, which led to some of the largest platinum mines in the world, phosphates and copper at Phalaborwa in the Transvaal lowveld, gold in the Free State and the world's biggest chrome deposit at Jagdlust near Pietersburg.
Life.
Hans Merensky was born on 16 March 1871 at Berlin Missionary Society station Botshabelo, near Middelburg in Transvaal, where his father, Alexander Merensky (1837–1918), a noted ethnographer and author, was the resident missionary. Keenly interested in minerals and enjoying outdoor living, he studied mining geology after finishing his schooling in Germany. He was awarded a doctorate in mining geology from the University of Charlottenburg in Berlin. He completed his practical training in coal mines in the Saarland and in Silesia and began work for the Department of Mines in East Prussia. In 1904 he came to South Africa to conduct some geological surveys in the Transvaal. He discovered tin near Pretoria and reported to the Premier Diamond Mine regarding possible mining prospects. He worked for several mining companies and Friedlaender & Co. sent him to Madagascar to investigate a reported discovery of gold, which turned out to be false. He resigned from his job in Germany and moved to Johannesburg where he became a successful consulting geologist.
In 1909 he visited the diamond fields of South West Africa and controversially predicted that diamonds would be found along the West coast and south of the Orange River. In 1913 Merensky lost his entire fortune due to the Depression, and was interned at a camp near Pietermaritzburg. During these financially difficult years he enjoyed the support of Sir George Albu.
In 1924 he followed up the discovery of alluvial platinum by A F Lombard on his farm in Lydenburg and discovered its source in the Bushveld Igneous Complex which set him on the road to financial recovery. This deposit came eventually to be known as the Merensky Reef, which contains 75 per cent of the world's known platinum resources.
In 1926 diamonds were found at Alexander Bay and Merensky received £1,250,000 for his prospector's share. He established the Phosphate Development Corporation Ltd. - FOSKOR - to manage the extraction of phosphates at Phalaborwa.
In his final years he lived unostentatiously on his farm Westfalia near Duiwelskloof in Transvaal, where he received local celebrities and foreign dignitaries. He died on 21 October 1952.
Legacy.
Merensky allotted the larger part of his fortune to the Hans Merensky Trust to ensure that his projects in agriculture, horticulture and forestry operations on the Westfalia Estate would be continued after his death. He established the Hans Merensky Library at the University of Pretoria.
In 2004, Martin Enlen directed a German language movie called "Platinum" based on Hans Merensky's life. Both overdubbed and subtitled English versions of this movie exist.
The Hans Merensky Wilderness, a protected area in Limpopo, and Merensky High School, an agricultural and academic public school on a farm near Tzaneen, are named after him.
Further reading.


Rwanyanya

Rwanyanya was a Prince and fifth child of Mwami Yuhi IV Gahindiro of Kingdom of Rwanda who lived in 19th century. His son was Kannanga, father of notable chief Tutuba .


United Nations Commissioner for Namibia

United Nations Commissioner for South West Africa was a post created by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1966 to assert the UN's direct responsibility for South West Africa which was then under illegal occupation by apartheid South Africa.
UNGA renamed the post United Nations Commissioner for Namibia in 1968.
Namibia eventually achieved its independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990.
Background.
After World War I, South Africa was given a League of Nations mandate to administer South West Africa. Following World War II and the introduction of apartheid, South Africa's mandate was revoked by UNGA in October 1966. In May 1967, during its fifth session, UNGA established the United Nations Council for South West Africa "to administer South West Africa until independence, with the maximum possible participation of the people of the territory". In 1968, it adopted the name "Namibia" for the territory. The United Nations Security Council endorsed UNGA's actions by adopting resolutions 264 and 269 of 1969.
UNSCR 276 of 1970 confirmed the illegality of South Africa's presence in the territory. The same year, the Security Council decided to request an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as to the legal consequences for Member States of South Africa's continued presence in Namibia notwithstanding UNSCR 276 of 1970. The following year the ICJ's Advisory Opinion confirmed UNGA's revocation of the mandate and declared that South Africa must withdraw its administration and end its occupation and that Member States were under an obligation to refrain from any support or assistance to South Africa in Namibia.
UN Commissioners.
There were seven occupants of the post of United Nations Commissioner for Namibia (UNCN). South Africa refused to recognize any of the UN Commissioners.
Transition to independence.
Martti Ahtisaari returned to Namibia in April 1989 as the UN's Special Representative to head up the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), which supervised the South African appointed Administrator-General, Louis Pienaar, and to oversee the decolonisation of one of Africa's last colonies.
Setback.
On 1 April 1989 — "D-Day" for the peace plan — UNTAG units had not been fully deployed and those that were (mostly civilians and monitors) lacked equipment for both transportation and communication. Despite this, hopes were high, as an informal ceasefire had held for nearly seven months. However, in the early morning, SADF reported that heavily armed groups of SWAPO militants of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) had begun crossing the border and establishing positions in northern Namibia which, if true, would have been a clear violation of the agreement that they should be confined to their Angolan bases. SWAPO denied that it had violated the terms of the agreement and claimed that its fighters had been going to turn in weapons to UNTAG and had been attacked by the SADF.
UNTAG's head, Martti Ahtisaari, came under pressure from British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was visiting Southern Africa at the time, and from South African foreign minister, Pik Botha, to allow SADF forces to leave their bases and repel the SWAPO incursions. Ahtisaari quickly decided to allow a limited deployment, and would later describe this decision as his most difficult. He told "The New York Times":
A period of intense fighting followed with the SWAPO forces sustaining over 350 fatalities.
New agreement.
Hurried negotiations took place and a new agreement was reached on 20 April 1989 when SADF forces withdrew to base for 60 hours, allowing SWAPO militants to withdraw peacefully. The SADF were then given two weeks to confirm that SWAPO had indeed left Namibia and also to capture any weapons caches discovered. This agreement was stuck to by both sides, though Ahtisaari and the UN Secretary-General were nervous about the length of time the SADF were out of their bases, and pushed hard to get them back to barracks. Despite these reservations, the withdrawal and verification passed without incident and by the end UNTAG was almost fully deployed, albeit a month behind schedule.
In October 1989, under orders of the UN Security Council, Pretoria was forced to demobilise some 1,600 members of Koevoet (Afrikaans for "crowbar"). The Koevoet issue had been one of the most difficult UNTAG faced. This counter-insurgency unit was formed by South Africa after the adoption of UNSCR 435, and was not, therefore, mentioned in the Settlement Proposal or related documents. The UN regarded Koevoet as a paramilitary unit which ought to be disbanded but the unit continued to deploy in the north in armoured and heavily armed convoys. In June 1989, the Special Representative told the Administrator-General that this behaviour was totally inconsistent with the Settlement Proposal, which required the police to be lightly armed. Moreover, the vast majority of the Koevoet personnel were quite unsuited for continued employment in the South West African Police (SWAPOL). The Security Council, in its resolution 640 (1989) of 29 August, therefore demanded the disbanding of Koevoet and dismantling of its command structures. South African foreign minister, Pik Botha, announced on 28 September 1989 that 1,200 ex-Koevoet members would be demobilised with effect from the following day. A further 400 such personnel were demobilised on October 30. These demobilisations were supervised by UNTAG military monitors.
Peaceful end.
The 11-month transition period ended relatively smoothly . Political prisoners were granted amnesty, discriminatory legislation was repealed, South Africa withdrew all its forces from Namibia, and some 42,000 refugees returned safely and voluntarily under the auspices of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Almost 98% of registered voters turned out to elect members of the Constituent Assembly. The elections were held in November 1989 and were certified as free and fair by the UN Special Representative, with SWAPO taking 57% of the vote, just short of the two-thirds necessary to have a free hand in revising the framework constitution. The opposition Democratic Turnhalle Alliance received 29% of the vote. The Constituent Assembly held its first meeting on 212 November 1989 and resolved unanimously to use the 1982 Constitutional Principles in Namibia's new constitution.
Independence day.
Independence Day on 21 March 1990 was celebrated in Windhoek's sports stadium which was attended by numerous international representatives, including the main players, the UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar and President of South Africa F W de Klerk, who jointly conferred formal independence on Namibia. Sam Nujoma was sworn in as the first President of Namibia watched by Nelson Mandela (just released from prison) and representatives from 147 countries, including 20 heads of state.
On 1 March 1994, the coastal enclave of Walvis Bay and 12 offshore islands were transferred to Namibia by South Africa. This followed 3 years of bilateral negotiations between the two governments and the establishment of a transitional Joint Administrative Authority (JAA) in November 1992 to administer the 780 km² (300 square mile) territory. The peaceful resolution of this territorial dispute was praised by the international community, as it fulfilled the provisions of UNSCR 432 (1978), which declared Walvis Bay to be an integral part of Namibia.


Peter Niesewand

Peter Joseph Niesewand (30 June 1944 – 4 February 1983), journalist and novelist, was born in South Africa but grew up in Rhodesia where he ran a news bureau, filing for the BBC, United Press, AFP, and many newspapers, notably the Guardian. On 20 February 1973 he was arrested and spent 73 days in solitary confinement for his criticism of conditions under Ian Smith's government and his coverage of the guerrilla war. His sentence of two years hard labour for revealing official secrets was commuted on appeal after an international outcry. He was deported on release from prison, and left with his wife of three years, Nonie, and young son Oliver. He emigrated to the United Kingdom to complete his only non-fiction book, "In Camera: Secret Justice in Rhodesia", and was named 1973 International Journalist of the Year, an award he won again in 1976 for his coverage of the Lebanese civil war, again for the "Guardian". As their Asia correspondent he also covered the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan from on the ground, experiences that inform his last novel, "Scimitar". He subsequently returned to London to become their deputy news editor until his untimely death of a heart attack at the age of 38.
Niesewand is credited by Colin Smith in "Carlos - Portrait of a Terrorist" for originating terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez's 'Jackal' alias:
Works.
Besides journalism and non-fiction Niesewand also wrote five novels:


List of heads of government of Sierra Leone

This is a list of heads of government of Sierra Leone, from the establishment of the office of Chief Minister in 1954 until the present day. The office of Prime Minister was abolished after the constitutional referendum in 1978, and reinstated in 2018 with the appointment of David J. Francis as Chief Minister.


Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet

Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet, KCB, PC (17 July 1731 – 25 September 1812), of Escot House in the parish of Talaton in Devon, England, was a British Secretary at War (1782–1783 and 1783–1794). He succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1755, which became extinct when he died without children. He is remembered by, among other things, the name of Yonge Street, a principal road in what is now Toronto, Canada, so named in 1793 by the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe.
Life and career.
Yonge was born in 1731 at Great House in the parish of Colyton, Devon, the son and heir of Sir William Yonge, 4th Baronet (1693–1755) by his second wife Ann Howard. He had a stepbrother, Walter Yonge, from his father's first wife Mary Heathcote.
He was educated at Eton College and then at the University of Leipzig.
He served as a Member of Parliament for his family's Rotten Borough of Honiton, Devon, from 1754 to 1761 and again from 1763 to 1796. He was quoted to have often said that he had inherited £80,000 from his father, acquired another £80,000 when he married and £80,000 from Parliament but Honiton had "swallowed it all," This was due to the huge briberies which were commonplace to influence the electorate in rotten borough elections of the time. Yonge was appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1782, and acted as Governor of the Cape Colony for a short period from 1799 to 1801. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1784 and was invested as a Knight of the Bath in 1788.
In 1755, he inherited Escot House near Ottery St Mary, Devon, on the death of his father. In 1794, he sold it for £26,000 to Sir John Kennaway, 1st Baronet, under whose occupancy it burnt down in 1808.
When Yonge died, indebted, on 25 September 1812 at Hampton Court, the baronetcy died with him. Initially he was interred at the place of his death but his remains were later exhumed and transported by sea to be laid to rest in the family crypt in the parish of Colyton. The re-burial was reputed to have taken place by night in fear that his creditors may seize the body.
Family.
Yonge married Ann Cleeve, daughter and sole heir of Bourchier Cleeve, on 10 July 1765. Yonge was then 34 years old and Ann 20 or perhaps just 21. Ann's father, two days before his death, changed his will to place restrictions on Ann's inheritance should she marry someone whom her mother deemed inappropriate. Whether this occurred is not clear.
Ann had no children. She died at Hampton on 7 January 1833.
There is great confusion in many sources, both online and in print, that give George Yonge's wife's name as Elizabeth. This seems to be a mistake. For a discussion, see the .
Legacy.
Yonge was considered an expert on Roman roads: 'He was a man of letters, an F.R.S., and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, to which he communicated an excellent memoir on the subject of Roman roads and camps, in connection with some discoveries that had been made at Mansfied, in Nottinghamshire, and hence the peculiar fitness of naming Yonge Street after him, it being precisely such a road, and adapted to similar uses, as those he had been engaged in examining.' The irony of naming anything after a man who was widely known in his day to being incredibly incompetent, is only now coming to light in Canada .
Yonge Street, the main north–south street of Toronto, was built between 1795 and 1796 from Eglinton Avenue to Lake Simcoe. Later the road was extended south to Bloor Street and still later, south to Lake Ontario. Yonge Mills Road and Townline Road Escott Yonge in Front of Yonge Township in Mallorytown, Ontario are named for him as well.


Ellah Wakatama Allfrey

Ellah Wakatama, OBE, Hon. FRSL (born 16 September 1966), is Editor-at-Large at Canongate Books, a senior Research Fellow at Manchester University and Chair of the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing. She was the founding Publishing Director of the Indigo Press. A London-based editor and critic, she was on the judging panel of the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award and the 2015 Man Booker Prize. In 2016, she was Visiting Professor & Global Intercultural Scholar at Goshen College, Indiana, and was Guest Master for the 2016 Gabriel Garcia Marquez Foundation international journalism fellowship in Cartagena, Colombia. The former deputy editor of "Granta" magazine, she was senior editor at Jonathan Cape, Random House and assistant editor at Penguin. She is series editor of the "Kwani?" Manuscript Project and the editor of the anthologies "Africa39" (Bloomsbury, 2014) and "Safe House: Explorations in Creative Nonfiction" (Dundurn/Cassava Republic).
Her journalism has appeared in the "Telegraph", "Guardian" and "Observer" newspapers and in "Spectator" and "The Griffith Review" magazines, and she is a contributor to the 2019 anthology "New Daughters of Africa". She has also been a regular contributor to the books pages of NPR. Her broadcasting includes reviews for NPR’s "All Things Considered" and BBC Radio 4's "Saturday Review". She sat on the selection panel for the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellowship for seven years and served as a literature selector for the Rolex 2014–15 Mentor & Protégée Initiative, as well as serving as chair of the Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship Selection panel for three years. She sits on the advisory board for Art for Amnesty and the Editorial Advisory Panel of the "Johannesburg Review of Books" and the "Lagos Review of Books". In 2011 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the publishing industry and in 2019 was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Biography.
Born in Salisbury, Rhodesia, on 16 September 1966 to Zimbabwean novelist, journalist and publisher Pius Wakatama and entrepreneur and Christian women's rights activist Winnie Wakatama ("née" Ndoro), Ellah Wakatama Allfrey spent her formative years between Salisbury and the midwestern USA while her father studied at the University of Iowa. She returned to Rhodesia at the age of 10, attending Arundel School. Her return to America was prompted by her college education, which began at Goshen College, where she received a BA in Journalism, ending at Rutgers University where she earned an MA from the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies.
She now resides in London, UK, working as Editor-at-Large at Canongate Books, Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, and Chair of the Caine Prize for African Writing.
She is the sister of writer and natural-birth campaigner Mavhu Farai Wakatama Hargrove and of the late Nhamu Wakatama and Richard Wakatama.
Awards.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, Allfrey was awarded an OBE in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to the publishing industry.
In 2019, she was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
She was named "Brittle Paper"s "African Literary Person of the Year 2019". an award recognizing individuals who work behind the scenes to hold up the African literary establishment.


George Oruigbiji Pepple

George Oruigbiji Pepple, otherwise known as Perekule VII, (b. 1849 – d. 31 Oct 1888) ruled the Kingdom of Bonny, an independent trading state in the Niger Delta between 30 September 1866 and 14 December 1883, when he was deposed. After the British signed a treaty making the state a protectorate, he was restored on 22 January 1887, ruling until his death.
Background.
The Kingdom of Bonny was a trading state founded before 1600, based on the port of Bonny in what is now Rivers State, Nigeria. It became a major trading center, first of slaves and later of palm oil products. During the 19th century, British influence was growing in the region.
George Oruigbiji Pepple was born in 1849, son of King William Dappa Pepple of Bonny, who was deposed by the British and deported to Britain in 1854. George went into exile with his father, and was educated in England at the boys' school at Hall Place, Bexley in southeast London. His studies included English, Greek, Mathematics, Scripture and History, the conventional syllabus of Victorian England.
During his father's exile, Bonny was torn by struggles, at times violent, between two rival factions attached to the ruling house.
The Manilla Pepple faction was led by Chief Oko Jumbo, but was racked by internal dissension.
It was opposed by the Anna or Annie Pepple faction, led by Chief Jubo Jubogha, known as Ja-Ja to the British.
In an attempt to restore peace, the British brought King William Dappa back and restored him to the throne in August 1861, reigning until his death in September 1866.
First reign.
George Pepple became king in succession to his father on 30 September 1866, taking the regnal name of "Perekule VII".
He was a Christian, and on his accession wrote to Bishop Crowther giving his support for introduction of the religion in Bonny. On 21 April 1867, supported by Oko Jumbo and other Manilla Pepple chiefs, he declared the iguana was no longer the sacred deity of the kingdom. His association with Christianity, at first welcomed by many people for the benefits it gave, gradually made him become identified with British interests and caused growing resentment.
The tension between the Manilla Pepple and Annie Pepple houses revived.
In June 1867 there was a two-day skirmish between the factions, which King George managed to end by threatening to personally shoot the ringleaders.
In 1869 a major battle between the two factions led to Ja-Ja founding a new state of Opobo, further inland at the village of Andoni, taking some of the palm oil trade away from Bonny.
On 16 March 1870, George sailed for England, where he called for more forceful action by the British, a plea that was accepted. The British consul Livingston was supplied with a gunboat with which he sailed up the river to Andoni and imposed peace.
In 1879 George fell ill, and when he recovered took his doctor's advice to take a holiday in England. He was received well, his actions were reported in the press, and he was introduced to the Prince of Wales.
He was also presented with a steam launch at the end of his visit.
All this caused considerable alarm among the chiefs, concerned about his growing power, combined with the growing power of the British. He came close to being deposed on his return but was saved by the British consul.
On 14 December 1883 King George was deposed.
Restoration.
In February 1886 a protectorate treaty was concluded between Bonny and Britain. A ruling council was established, and King George Pepple was restored to his throne. Oko Jumbo was publicly degraded, his bans on Christianity were repealed and afterwards he was a spent force in Bonny politics. King George died in October 1888, and was succeeded by a series of regents. He was buried in the British Cemetery of Funchal, Madeira. The cemetery today is administered and financed by the Anglican Holy Trinity Church, Rua Quebra Costa, Funchal, and has public access daily.


Mulambwa Santulu

Mulambwa Santulu was a "litunga" (king or chief) of Barotseland who ruled from 1812 to 1830.
Biography.
Mulambwa Santulu was the third son of the king Mwanawina I, by his wife, Queen Mbuywana.
He was a chief of Lilundu, before his accession. He succeeded on the death of his elder brother Mwananyanda Liwale and was opposed by Kusiyo, but eventually triumphed after slaying the Nololo.
He established his capital at Namuso and established orchards, tamed and domesticated wild animals and promulgated laws on property and marriage. He died at Lilundu, in the month of July, about 1830.
Family.
Mulambwa had many children. His sons were kings Mubukwanu and Silumelume and his grandson was Sipopa Lutangu.
His children were also Prince Namiluko Mulumbwa, Prince Imbua Mulumbwa (chief), Prince Ilukuyi, Prince Meebelo Ananganga Mulumbwa, Prince Ngela Mulumbwa, Yeta II, and Akelumbela.
His daughters were Princess Kandundu ("Mulena Mukwai" of Nololo, she died in 1871), Princess Monambeza (installed as "Mulena Mukwai" of Nololo, she was killed in 1885) and Princess Katoka.


Hatari!

Hatari! (, Swahili for "Danger!") is a 1962 American adventure romantic comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne. It portrays a group of professional game catchers in Africa. The film includes dramatic wildlife chases and the scenic backdrop of Mount Meru, a dormant volcano.
"Hatari!" was shot in Technicolor and filmed on location in northern Tanganyika (in what is now Tanzania).
Plot.
In Tanganyika in the 1950s, the Momella Game Company captures animals for zoos and menageries, using fast off-road vehicles, lassos, and cage traps. The company consists of Frenchwoman Brandy de la Court, the owner; Sean Mercer, a tough Irish-American who heads the catching expeditions; Mexican Bullfighter Luis Francisco Garcia Lopez, sharpshooter Little Wolf "The Indian", former NYC cabbie "Pockets", retired German race car driver Kurt Müller, and several native staff.
They open one hunting season by pursuing a female rhino. Kurt and the Indian ride in a small herding car and force the rhino towards the ropes and poles Sean and his crew hold from the back of their larger pickup truck. The rhino gets too close to the herding car and gores the Indian in the leg, and the group starts the five hour journey to Arusha to get help.
At the hospital, Kurt gets into an altercation with French marksman Charles "Chips" Maurey, who is eager to work for the company. However, it turns out Chips is the only one present with the necessary blood type to save the Indian's life with a transfusion. Chips agrees to this, and Sean offers him a job. They head home, to discover Italian photographer Anna-Maria "Dallas" D'Alessandro has arrived unannounced. The next morning, Dallas shows them a letter saying the Basel zoo has sent her. As they are Momella's biggest client, Sean reluctantly gives her a trial. Despite many rookie embarrassments, Dallas enjoys her first day and the others vote to allow her to stay, much to Sean's irritation.
Chips arrives, and he and Kurt become friends. The company capture a giraffe, three ostriches, a zebra, a gazelle, a leopard, and a cape buffalo as the days go by, and Dallas and Sean begin to develop feelings for one another, though Sean, having been run out on by a previous fiancee, resists. Meanwhile, Brandy is pursued by three suitors - Kurt, Chips, and Pockets. The Indian arrives back from hospital, shaken by his experience, and Sean agrees to not pursue any more rhinos until the end of the season.
While visiting a tribe of Wa-Arushas, Dallas finds an orphaned elephant calf and adopts it, much to Sean's irritation as the rest of his crew start herding goats and getting milk for the calf instead of doing their job. However, that night, Dallas gets Sean to thaw a bit and they share a kiss for the first time.
While pursuing wildebeests, Kurt blows a tire and wrecks the herding car, dislocating his shoulder and badly spraining Chips' leg. The same day, Pockets is walking on a tall fence and slips and falls, only bruising himself. Despite this, Brandy shows the most concern for him, revealing which of the three men she loves.
Dallas finds two more orphan baby elephants, and is allowed to keep them once she promises to hire a boy to tend and feed them. News of how baby elephants follow her around reaches the Wa-Arushas, and they give Dallas a ceremony and name her "Mama Tembo", mother of elephants. Some of the paint is hard to get off her skin, after the ceremony, for which she becomes angry that Sean didn't warn her, but the two eventually reconcile over the ludicrous situation.
Pockets creates a Rube Goldberg machine with a rocket and nets to catch a huge vervet monkey troop all at once, with surprisingly effective results. The company finally has only one order left - the rhino. They pursue an angry bull rhino, and it manages to get loose a few times. Finally they succeed with no one hurt, much to the Indian's relief.
Dallas begins to fear that Sean still sees her as the woman that left him, instead of as herself. She leaves Pockets a goodbye letter and flees to Arusha. Sean, however, loves her and doesn't want her to go. With the help of the three baby elephants, he tracks her through the streets of Arusha and corners her in the hotel. They are married that afternoon, and prepare to spend their wedding night in Sean's room; however, the three elephants barge in, destroying the room, much to the couple's annoyance.
Production.
"Hatari!" has a very loose script and, like many other major works of Hawks, is principally structured on the relationships among the characters, though it is "bookended" by the initial violent (and nearly fatal) encounter with a rhinoceros and the end-of-season determination to make such a capture to fulfil the team's quota. The script was written by Hawks' favourite writer, Leigh Brackett, after the group returned from Africa with the catching scenes.
Much of the film revolves around scenes of chasing animals in jeeps and trucks across the African plains. The animals pursued are also all live, wild, and untrained. Capturing animals by chasing them down is banned today due to concerns of exhausting and killing the targeted animals. There is also the fact that, owing to the development of reliable animal tranquillisers and powerful dart guns in the decades since "Hatari!" was filmed, it's no longer necessary to lasso and rope the animals to capture them.
At the beginning of the production, all Hawks knew was that he wanted a movie about people who catch animals in Africa for zoos, a dangerous profession with exciting scenes the likes of which had never been seen on-screen before. Hawks increased his knowledge on animal catching from the work of the famous South African animal conservationist, Dr. Ian Player. In 1952 South Africa was eliminating all large wild animals to protect livestock, and only 300 white rhinos survived. Player then invented his famed rhino catching technique to relocate and save the white rhinos. Player's project was called "Operation Rhino" and it was recorded in the renowned documentary film of the same name. Hawks studied this film closely and incorporated aspects of it into his film.
Michèle Girardon (Brandy) spoke no English when cast in the role; she taught herself English while on the set, according to a July 1961 "LIFE" magazine profile of the actress.
Government-licensed animal catcher Willy de Beer was hired by Hawks to be the closeby technical adviser, and his assistants became their staff of experts in regard to catching the animals.
Hawks was inspired by the famous animal photographer Ylla, so he had script writer Brackett add the character of Dallas. Hawks said, "We took that part of the story from a real character, a German girl. She was the best animal photographer in the world."
Filming in Africa was dangerous for the production team and actors. According to director Howard Hawks all the animal captures in the picture were actually performed by the actors; no stuntmen or animal handlers were substituted on-screen. The rhino really did escape, and the actors really did have to recapture it - and Hawks included the sequence for its realism. Much of the action sequence audio had to be re-dubbed due to John Wayne's cursing while wrestling with the animals. However, a stand-in, "Rusty" Walkley (real name: Mildred Lucy Walkley), was used for some scenes involving Elsa Martinelli.
Hawks said Wayne admitted being scared during some of the action scenes, and "had the feeling with every swerve that the car was going to overturn as he hung on for dear life, out in the open with only a seat belt for support, motor roaring, body jarring every which-way, animals kicking dirt and rocks and the thunder of hundreds of hooves increasing the din in his ears." Wayne felt it was unpredictable with the terrain's hidden holes and obstacles which could have been disastrous.
John Wayne wore a belt with his famous Red River D buckle on it, as he did in many of his movies. It can be clearly seen in the scene where Sean Mercer calls Arusha Control after the Indian is gored by the rhino in the opening of the movie; and again in the scene where Sonja the cheetah wanders into the bathroom while Dallas is bathing and introduces herself by licking Dallas and purring.
When Hawks interviewed de Vargas, he told him it would be very dangerous and showed him a documentary. De Vargas had no double and like the rest of the cast appeared in the animal catching shots. One evening Buttons and Wayne were playing cards outside and a leopard came out of the bush towards them. When Buttons mentioned the approaching leopard, Wayne said, "See what he wants." De Vargas said technical adviser Willy de Beer was mauled by a loose baby leopard that sprang on him from a tree, "He came back with his arm covered in bandages and throat completely wrapped, but he just shrugged it off."
As the animals frequently refused to make noise "on cue" (in particular, the baby elephants refused to trumpet inside populated areas), local Arusha game experts and zoo collectors were hired to do "animal voice impersonations".
Hawks stated in interviews that he had originally planned to star both Clark Gable and Wayne in the film until Gable's death finally ruled that out.
"Hatari!" introduced the memorable Henry Mancini tune "Baby Elephant Walk". Another memorable musical moment is a duet of Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home" (Swanee River) with Dallas playing the piano, and Pockets playing the harmonica.
Ngorongoro farm, owned by Hardy Kruger from 1960 to 1973, served as the movie's setting.
Reception.
"Hatari!" grossed $12,923,077 at the box office, earning $7 million in US theatrical rentals. It was the 7th highest-grossing film of 1962.
Jean-Luc Godard listed "Hatari!" as one of the best films of its year of release.
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
Novelization.
Michael Milner adapted Leigh Brackett's screenplay into a paperback novel published by Pocket Books in 1962 as a tie-in to the movie. The cover features the movie poster of the rhino attacking the catching truck. The novel goes into more detail about some aspects of the animal-catching, particularly about Pockets' rocket net project, and about the pursuit of Brandy by Kurt, Chips, and Pockets. The book is a little edgier than the film, but it is a fast read and faithful to the movie. The novel's ASIN number is B000BJUQP4.


Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi

Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, Odundun II, is a Nigerian monarch. He is the 47th and current traditional ruler of Akure Kingdom, a traditional state in Akure, the Ondo State capital. He was proclaimed Deji of Akure in 2015, taking the regnal name Odundun II and succeeding the deceased Oba Adebiyi Adegboye Adesida.
Early life.
Prince Patrick Bankole "Kole" Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi was born on December 28, 1956, in the nearby Akure settlement of Ayede-Ogbese, to the Baale, the Alayere of Ayede-Ogbese, Prince Ogunlade Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo and Princess Omowunmi Aladetoyinbo (née Adedipe) (1926-2018), a member of the notable Adedipe family that bear the Elemo chieftaincy title in Akure. He is the third of ten children. He started his elementary education at St. Patrick School, Aponmu Akure. He then proceeded to Oyemekun Grammar School Akure where he received his secondary school certificate (SSCE). He graduated as an Architect from Florida State University in Miami, Florida.
Professional career.
He is a prominent member of the Nigerian Institute of Architects. He is also one of the founding members of Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON). Oba Aladetoyinbo has a master's degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He has given public lectures in higher institutions like Obafemi Awolowo University and Adekunle Ajasin University regarding the role of youth in governance.
Selection and coronation.
Oba Aladetoyinbo was selected from the Osupa royal family of Akure, amongst indigenes who were also heirs to the throne on 17 June 2015. He received his staff of office on 17 July 2015. His era has been described as an ‘Epoch of Peace'. Oba Aladetoyinbo is the spiritual leader of the Akure people now saddled with the responsibility of making supplications to God and the Òrìṣà on behalf of his clan and the world at large during annual festivals such as the Ogun festival and the Ulefunta.
Personal life.
Oba Odundun II is the current head of the Osupa/Odundun Royal Family, one of the cadet branches of the Royal House of Asodeboyede. The other branch is the Ojijigogun Royal Family. Both branches are descended from two of Oba Arakale's children. Like many African kings, Odundun II is polygamous and has at least 4 wives. He has at least 5 children. He is a direct male-line great-grandson of Oba Odundun I, great-great grandson of Oba Osupa I, and a 3rd great-grandson of Oba Arakale. His great-grandfather's first cousin (his first cousin thrice removed) was Oba Adesida I. He is a third cousin once removed of musician King Sunny Ade. He is also a distant relative of the Royal House of Benin through his 5th great-grandfather, Oba Akengbuda, a king of the Benin Empire, and thus a sixth cousin of Oba Ewuare II, the current Oba of Benin.
Through his mother, Princess Omowunmi Aladetoyinbo (née Adedipe), he is related to the notable Adedipe family of Akure, who have held the Elemo chieftaincy for over 2 centuries. His maternal grandfather was Okira Adedipe, who was a son of Chief Adedipe Oporua Atoosin (1819-1916). Through this same Adedipe family, he is also a second cousin of Chief Olu Falae. He is a first cousin of the current Elemo of Akure, Chief Olusegun Okira (Adedipe VI). Through the mother of his great-grandfather Adedipe Oporua Atoosin, he also has roots in the Yoruba town of Ilara-Mokin. Odundun II is also a third great grandson of Oba Arakale through his maternal line, and Odundun II's parents were fourth cousins. He is the first descendant of the Adedipe family to be a King of Akure.
He married his first wife Olori Olajumoke Aladetoyinbo (1958-) in 1986. Her father is from Imo state and her mother is from the Yoruba town of Idanre. They have 3 children. His second wife is Olori Abimbola "Bimbo" Omosalewa Aladetoyinbo (née Akintide). She herself is a great-granddaughter of Oba Adesida I, a great-great-great granddaughter of Oba Arakale, and thus a fourth cousin of her husband, Oba Odundun II.
His younger wives are Olori Kemisola Aladetoyinbo, Olori Oluwafunmilayo "Funmilayo" Titilayo Aladetoyinbo, and Olori Adetutu "Tutu" Aladetoyinbo. They got married to Oba Odundun II after he became king. Olori Funmilayo is known for her active community engagement in Akure and passed out COVID relief materials to people in Akure.


Seppo Salko

Seppo Ilmari Salko (born 20 April 1941 in Oulu, Finland) is a Finnish retired elementary school teacher and a former missionary to Taiwan with the Finnish Missionary Society (FMS), and together with his wife the longest serving employee of the FMS dormitory in Taichung, Taiwan.
Education.
Salko went to school in Lappeenranta, Finland. During his early years there he became acquainted and friends with Sakari Pinola, who later recruited him to missionary work in Taiwan. Salko has said he “grew up together” with Pinola.
During his years at school, Salko was such a pious man that his classmates called him “pastor”. He participated in the Lappeenranta parish youth group of mission friends. He did not go to high school, but instead studied to become a teacher in the Heinola Seminary, where he met his wife to be, Marja-Liisa Raulamo, who came from Tampere. Salko graduated in 1964, and Raulamo the following year. It appears that the Salkos got married in 1965. Part of the engagement was a pledge to go out as missionaries.
Work in Finland.
The next five years the Salkos worked as teachers in Ristijärvi in the Kainuu province. During that time they furthered the missionary cause in the parish. Salko reported in the FMS magazine "Suomen Lähetyssanomat" in 1970 of a lunch that was arranged as a fundraiser, which had yielded more than 3000 Finnish marks for mission work. After the five years in Ristijärvi, the Salkos found themselves in 1970 in the mission candidates’ course with the FMS in Helsinki.
Work as a missionary in Taiwan.
The Salkos left from Finland to Taiwan on 19 October 1971. Their first term as missionaries in Taiwan lasted from 1971 to 1975. They used their first year in Taiwan studying the local languages. After that they began their work in The Finnish dormitory in Taichung, which at the time was operated in rented premises. The Finnish children attended Morrison Academy, an American school that functioned in Taichung. The distance from the children's homes to the school was between 200 and 300 kilometers.
Due to a change in the city plan, Morrison had to abandon its old campus and built a new one outside the city. At this stage, a separate building for the Finnish dormitory was built on the new campus. The planning of the dormitory building had many twists and turns, but in the end Seppo Salko had the final word in determining what the building was to be like.
In 1974, the Salkos wrote about their work as follows:
During the school year 1975–76, the Salkos had a furlough in Finland, and another missionary couple, Simo and Tarja Lipasti, ran the dormitory during that time.
The Salkos’ second term began in 1976 and ended in 1980, and the third term lasted from 1981 to 1985.
During the furloughs, Salko worked in the FMS headquarters in Helsinki. During 1975–76 he was responsible for the circulation of the FMS magazine "Suomen Lähetyssanomat" and during 1980–81 he worked as the head of the audiovisual productions.
After the Salkos’ third term, the FMS decided in 1985 that no one would be allowed to work at the Taichung dormitory for more than two terms. Thus, in 1985 the Salkos remained in Finland.
During 1985–87 Salko worked in the FMS as the person in charge of matters dealing with scholarship students in Finland, until the FMS reversed its decision on the “two terms” rule at the dormitory and sent the Salkos for a fourth term during 1987–91.
Working in Finland 1991–95.
The Salkos returned to Finland for good in 1991. After this, Salko worked with the FMS, assigned to the Lapua Diocese and after this during 1992–95 as the person responsible for the functioning of the FMS Mission Church at the FMS headquarters in Helsinki. He was listed in this capacity also in the 1996 and 1997 FMS yearbooks, although he no longer worked in this assignment.
Work with homeless children in St. Petersburg.
As a pensioner, Salko has participated in work with homeless children in St. Petersburg, Russia. He has done this as part of the "Aitomiehet" (‘real men’) group of the Aitolahti Parish in Tampere.
He can be seen posing with other “real men” in the group's 2014 Christmas photograph.


Citata

Citata (also known as Quitata) was one of the traditional independent Ovimbundu kingdoms in Angola.


Bloc for Democracy and African Integration

The Bloc for Democracy and African Integration () was a political party in Mali.
History.
The party was established in April 1993.
The 2007 elections saw the party affiliate with the Alliance for Democracy and Progress that supported President Amadou Toumani Touré. It won 2 out of 160 seats in the National Assembly.
In August 2010 it merged with the Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally to form the Malian Union for the African Democratic Rally.


Julian Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith

Julian Edward George Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (22 April 1916 – 16 January 2011) was a British colonial administrator and hereditary peer.
Background and education.
Asquith was the only son of Raymond Asquith, a barrister, by his wife, the former Katharine Horner. He was the grandson of H. H. Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, British Prime Minister from 1908 until 1916. Lord Oxford's two older sisters both predeceased him; the younger of these was Lady Perdita Rose Mary Asquith, later Lady Hylton (1910–1996), who was married to William Jolliffe, 4th Baron Hylton and became the grandmother of the actress Anna Chancellor.
He inherited the earldom in 1928 on the death of his grandfather, since his father had been killed in the First World War. He was raised as a Roman Catholic after his mother's conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1923 and was educated at St Ronan's School and Ampleforth College. He then became a scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts. In 1936, he attended the opening of the new building of Campion Hall, a Catholic institution within the University, with the Duke of Alba, Spanish ambassador to London, and Alban Goodier S.J., the former Archbishop of Bombay.
In 1940, Asquith was commissioned in the Royal Engineers and served with 3 Field Squadron in Egypt. From 1942 to 1948 he was an Assistant District Commissioner in Palestine.
Career.
After the war, Lord Oxford pursued a diplomatic career. He was Deputy chairman Secretary of the British Administration Tripolitania from 1949 to 1950, Director of Interior Tripolitania in 1951 and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Libya in 1952. In 1955 he was Administrative Secretary of Zanzibar and from 1958 to 1962 was the Administrator of Saint Lucia. He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1961.
Oxford was the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Seychelles from 1962 to 1967, and the Commander of the British Indian Ocean Territory from 1965 to 1967. In 1964, he was advanced as Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. He also held the posts of Constitutional Commander of the Cayman Islands in 1971, and Turks and Caicos Islands from 1973 to 1974.
Marriage and children.
Lord Oxford married Anne Mary Celestine Palairet, daughter of Sir Michael Palairet (1882–1956) by his wife Mary de Vere Studd, on 28 August 1947 at the Brompton Oratory. Anne Oxford was also a Roman Catholic via her parents' conversions.
Lord and Lady Oxford had five children: two sons, both diplomats, and three daughters (the middle one married to another diplomat):
Lord Oxford inherited the estate of Mells Manor from his mother Katharine Asquith, younger daughter of Sir John Horner, of Mells and his wife Lady Frances (née Graham).
The Countess of Oxford and Asquith died in 1998. The Earl died, aged 94, on 16 January 2011. He was succeeded in his peerage titles, which he had held for over eighty years, by his elder son, Raymond (b. 1952), a former British diplomat and elected hereditary member of the House of Lords.


Waruhiu Itote

Waruhiu Itote (1922 – 30 April 1993), "nom de guerre" General China, was one of the key leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising (1952–1960) in British Kenya alongside Dedan Kimathi, Stanley Mathenge, Kurito ole Kisio, Musa Mwariama and Muthoni Kirima.
General China was the first senior Mau Mau leader to be captured by the government, when he fell into a trap in 1954. He was jailed alongside future Kenyan president Jomo Kenyatta.
Because of his cooperation with the colonial government, General China's legacy is often controversial. To most of his compatriots, he was a turn-coat who saved his neck by betraying others. He is regarded one of the few moderates among the Mau Mau leadership
Early life.
Waruhiu Itote was born into a prosperous farming family in Kaheti village, Mukurwe-ini division, Nyeri District in 1922. He received minimal education at a local Church of Scotland mission, before moving to Nairobi as a teenager to escape his father's beatings.
He married his first wife, Leah Wambura, in December 1940.
Itote enlisted in the British army in 1942, serving in the King's African Rifles throughout Asia, firstly at Ceylon and then in the Burma Campaign. Whilst in Burma he was promoted to the rank of Corporal. He passed up an opportunity for promotion and asked to be discharged
Returning to Kenya, he became disillusioned with the lack of opportunities for black soldiers while white soldiers were being rewarded, leading him to become involved in urban politics as he joined the Kenya African Union in 1946. In the company of fellow ex-army comrades he dabbled in the criminal underworld as part of Nairobi's Forty Group, to supplement his wages as a fireman.
Mau Mau Years.
In 1950, Itote swore the Mau Mau oath, and subsequently became responsible for oathing and was an executioner of traitors. As the police began clamping down on Mau Mau activities in 1952, Itote moved to the forests of Mount Kenya with a band of followers to begin his insurgency. From here Itote began a wave of attacks on white settler farms in Nyeri and targeted loyalists to nearby villages. He soon gained a reputation as a skilled commander with an ability to organise.
Capture.
Itote was captured by British troops on 15 January 1954 during a failed operation against a police post in Mathira. During the capture, he was shot and wounded in the neck.
He was charged with consorting with persons carrying firearms and being in possession of ammunition. Itote was represented at his trial by the prominent Asian lawyer A.R. Kapila. Itote was found guilty and sentenced to hang.
Negotiations to end the War.
Following a deal instigated by Ian Henderson, Itote agreed to cooperate with the government and negotiate an end to the uprising in return for his life. The cooperation of Itote led General Erskine to bring Operation Anvil to a close.
Detention and later life.
Itote was unable to bring about the surrender of his Mau Mau comrades, and so was placed in a detention camp in Lokitaung. Here he stayed with his former opponent, Jomo Kenyatta who taught him how to speak and write in English.
In prison, General China saved the future president's life after a fellow inmate, Kariuki Chotara, then a minor on murder charges, attempted to stab Jomo Kenyatta.
Itote stayed in detention for the next nine years, and was released in 1962. He was then taken under the wing of Kenyatta in his new government. He also got military training in Israel, before returning to Kenya to serve as assistant director of the National Youth Service under Geoffrey Griffin, a position he held up to 1984.
In 1967 he published his autobiography, ""Mau Mau" General" (East African Publishing House), and in 1979 wrote "Mau Mau in Action" (Transafrica Books). He served as the top officer of Kenya National Youth service with his headquarters at Ruaraka, Nairobi.
He died of a stroke in 1993 at the age of 71. At the time of his death he was running a farm near Ol Kalou in Kenya.
Legacy.
In 2010, Waruhiu's wife and stepdaughter donated the bullet that had been lodged in his neck for three decades to the National Museums of Kenya. The bullet was removed in 1988; it had gone through his chin, bruised his collarbone, ricocheted to the left and then lodged itself at the base of his neck.


Joseph de Graft Hayford

Joseph de Graft Hayford (1840 – 1919) was a Wesleyan Methodist minister who was a prominent figure in Fante politics and society in the Gold Coast. He was one of the founders of the Fante Confederation of 1867 and one of the first political detainees in Ghanaian history.
Background.
Rev. Joseph de Graft Hayford has been described as "one of the greatest politicians of his day, and the most active member of the Fanti Confederacy of 1867". When the Confederacy was declared illegal, he was one of the four leaders to be arrested on a charge of conspiracy, the others being James Hutton Brew, James F. Amissah and George Kunto Blankson.
Family.
Of the Anona clan of Cape Coast, he was the son of Rev. James Hayford and Elizabeth de Graft. He was the husband of Mary Ewuraba Brew (daughter of the prominent Gold Coast trader Samuel Collins Brew and Adjuah Esson) and his children were: Rev. Josiah Hayford, Isaac Hayford, Ibinijah Hayford, Rev. Dr Ernest James Hayford, Rev. Mark Christian Hayford, Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, Hester Hayford; Helen Mary Hayford and Sydney Spencer Hayford. He was the brother of Rev. Isaac Hayford and Lucy Hayford.


Twifo-Heman

Twifo is one of the states established by the Akan when they first settled in the Adansi forest. Later the Akan kept migrating southward toward the coast, where they took over considerable area. By the beginning of the 16th century, European sources noted the state of Twifo, said to be rich in gold; they described it as near the forest area with a capital known as Hemang. These Akan brought their gold to the coastal area to sell and were known by the Europeans by variant names because they brought the finest gold. The people also became known as Twifo.
Overview.
Duarte Pacheco Pereira, the earliest authority writing in 1505 about the Akan, referred to them by the name "Quaforo, Cuffrue or Juffer", his attempt in Portuguese to render the sound of Twifo. The European traders noted that the Twifo as skillful traders. These Akan were a minority group. Their ancestors moved out of the Adansi area earlier than most of the Akan groups; they migrated toward the southern part of the Ashantiland Peninsula and settled in the forest area towards the coast. They established themselves socially, economically, militarily and politically.
The Twifo kingdom with its ancient capital of Hemang welcomed other Akan groups into their area. They did not seek to consolidate power like many of the Akan states, and gave autonomy to the newcomers. Many settlers from various Akan groupings came later and settled on either side of the Pra River; all adopted the name Twifo.
Twifo groupings.
In the 21st century, three groupings are called Twifo: Hemang, Mampong and Morkwa.
Morkwa.
The Morkwa, headed by their leader Nana Amo Kwaw, settled beyond the Pra River; they shared a common boundary with the already-settled Twifo Hemang kingdom. They adopted the name Twifo. The Morkwa territory was settled earlier than many sites beyond the Pra River.
Mampong and Hemang.
The Mampong, headed by their leader Nana Ampontenfi, came later from Asante Nkawie. They settled first at Jukwa and built houses there. After some time, they applied for land at Twifo Hemang through the mediation of Tiboe of Jukwa Dankyira. They became paying guests around 1831 and also adopted the name Twifo after their settlement. They lived and paid fees annually to Twifo Hemang Kingdom for the land they occupied.


Chumburu

The Chumburu are part of the Guan ethnic group in Ghana and are located in three regions:Northern, Volta and Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. They are indigenous in three Regions of Ghana:
Both traditional areas of Chumburung in Brong-Ahafo and Volta regions are on the shores of Lake Volta.
The Chumburu speak the Chumburung language.


Nimbo massacre

Nimbo is a border town in Uzo-Uwani area of Enugu State, Nigeria, where seven villages- Ekwuru, Nimbo-Ngwoko, Ugwuijoro, Ebor, Enugu-Nimbo, Umuome and Ugwuachara were invaded, and scores massacred by over 500 armed Fulani herdsmen, rated the fourth deadliest terror group in the world, in the early hours of April 25, 2016. Uzo Uwani has boundaries with the Southern States of Ebonyi and Anambra, and Central States of Benue and Kogi, where these attacks have increased lately.
Attack.
The herdsmen, who reportedly were bent on occupying a portion of the farming community's land for cattle grazing plotted attack, and went on to notify the natives about their invasion on April 23, 2016. The intelligence was promptly reported to security agencies who met accordingly. However, at about 5.15 am on April 25, 2016, the armed herdsmen numbering over 500 struck killing 40 people. The following day, April 26, 2016, six more bodies were recovered and 14 victims were lying critically ill at Royal Cross Hospital, Nsukka, Nsukka District General Hospital and Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka.
During the raid, a church, known as Christ Holy Church International (AKA Odozi-Obodo), at Onu-Eke, and 11 houses were burnt by the marauders. As a result of the insecurity, displaced natives fled to neighboring communities of Nkpologu and Uvuru,
(Uvuru-Agada) even as indigenes of those communities also fled to Nsukka in fear of further attacks.
Invasion of Ukpabi-Nimbo community, known as "Enugu Massacre", by roaming Fulani herdsmen followed similar massacre of hundreds of natives in another farming community, Agatu, Benue State by the same herdsmen, just a little over a month.
There was invasion of neighbouring Abbi, another Uzo Uwani community, where a brother and sister-Fidelis and Mercy Okeja were reportedly killed on the spot earlier in February 2016. 19 persons were declared missing whilst seven houses and motorcycles were raised down. It was reported the invasion was carried out by 30 masked Fulani herdsmen.
Compromised Security.
According to Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the terrorism at Nimbo may have happened due to inability of security agencies to successfully act on the counter intelligence report about herdsmen grouping at neighbouring Odolu in Kogi State in preparation for attack.
Igbo social cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo whilst expressing disappointment at the seemingly security lapses which led to the terror attack and likelihood of another attack, asked the government to carry out thorough investigation to bring those responsible to justice and forestall further occurrences. The body also said “Imeobi views with grave concern and unequivocally, condemns the recent slaughter by Fulani herdsmen of our defenceless kith and kin in Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State.”
Herdsmen and Communities.
Roaming herdsmen have reportedly terrorised, occupied lands, raped, kidnapped, and killed hundreds of people across the farming communities of southern and north central states in 2016, a bloody conflict Nigeria’s information minister, Lai Mohammed said the government was working behind the scenes to resolve. Besides loss of human lives, it is estimated the bloody conflicts cost the West African country billions in lost revenues.
"Our men were supported by soldiers and they prevented the attackers from coming to the centre of the community. The attack took place at the fringe of the town and my men engaged the attackers in a shoot-out and prevented them from coming to the centre of the town which was their target", reported the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Nwodibo Ekechukwu.
Some of the high-profile kidnap cases associated to herdsmen include that of chief Olu Falae, who was traced to, kidnapped at his farm in Ilado, Ondo State, and the January 5, 2016 abduction of slain traditional ruler of Ubulu-Uku community, Obi Agbogidi Akaeze Ofulue of Aniocha South, Delta State, by gunmen and ransom demanded. "Though my phone number was used for negotiation of the ransom and a large amount of the ransom collected was also found on me. What happened was that, one of my friends known as Idris, who I met two months ago came to my house few days before the last Sallah celebration and took one of my SIM cards", answered Dojijo who was described as the leader of Chief Olu Falae's abduction operation.
Total casualties attributed to roaming Fulani herdsmen, due to their reluctance to, invest in private cattle ranches or agricultural holding and, improve Social responsibility amongst the communities, hit 1,229 in 2014, a massive increase from just 63 in 2013, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Global Terrorism Index 2015 and it has soared since the beginning of 2016.
“These herdsmen must be called to order, these wanton destructions, audacious incursions in other people territory cannot continue for too long,” remarked Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.
Public Perception.
There is a growing perception down the south and north-central regions of Nigeria, that federal government's silence, to incessant killing of natives and farmers in their farm lands, continued open grazing of cattle by herdsmen known for their violence, and the rumoured bill to introduce grazing routes to encourage further roaming of herdsmen across Nigeria, are signs of failure, imperialism and favoritism by the President, Muhammadu Buhari to his tribesmen, the Fulani, over other ethnic nationalities of Nigeria.
Many have wondered why the President and security forces cracking down heavily and loudly on pro-Biafra activists and oil militants in the creeks are showing reluctance and working "behind the scenes" on herdsmen bloody conflicts with communities across Nigeria. According to the Yoruba social-cultural organisation, Afenifere, it was worried that Nigeria's secret police, DSS, which rushed to the press to say that they discovered a grave in the East of Nigeria where they said they found the bodies of the Fulani men without any DNA, has continued to maintain silence over killings across the country by certain ethnic group.
“I feel bitter, I feel aggrieved. I feel sad that APC government at the centre cannot protect us. We call on the Federal Government to declare state of emergency in Igboland over the Fulani herdsmen threat to security in the zone or else we will declare war against the Fulani Herdsmen", remarked the Archbishop of the Anglican Communion, Enugu Province, Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma. The Rev warned that, if nothing was done to checkmate the Fulani herdsmen, he would personally ask the pro-Biafra groups to declare war on them as part of their Fundamental rights to Self-defense.
Indigenous People of Biafra has said the increasing attacks are aiding the fulfilment of predictions of its incarcerated leader, Nnamdi Kanu, whose popularity has soared following the terror attacks, about propagation of Hausa/Fulani supremacy and Islamization of Eastern Nigeria. "No, they are coming to enthrone Hausa/Fulani supremacy, to reposition the security agencies by sacking all competent hands and replace them with their kinsmen in order to drive their ethnic domination of the south. The Fulani herdsmen will be armed and encouraged to slaughter us with impunity and their masters will protect them, remarked Kanu before his arrest.
“The itinerant herdsmen are Fulani. They are killing and maiming innocent people. The silence by the Federal Government is alarming. I hope there is no extra constitutional agenda to this", remarked Ijaw Council for Human Rights, ICHR” whilst debunking the Northern Governors position that Fulani herdsmen should not be labelled criminals despite these wicked, lawless and provocative acts.
Opposition to Grazing Reserve and Routes.
"I hear there is a bill in the Senate seeking to create grazing routes, where are they grazing to, to another man’s farm”. Creating grazing routes is not the solution as it is known worldwide that cows kept in ranches produce better than grazing cows", remarked Audu Ogbe, Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
According to Obi Nwakanma, "aggressive Nomadism must not be allowed to become an avenue for ethnic expansionism and conquest of citizens protected by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, while opposing the creation of grazing routes and reserves, said cattle grazing is a private business and, therefore, should not be done in a manner that individual's or community's rights are infringed upon.
Re-echoing the position of many Nigerians, the Oyo State through its governor, Abiola Ajimobi, warned against any proposal to seize or allocate land across Nigeria for use as federal grazing reserves."It is against the Land Use Act; it is against the law of Natural justice to seize people’s land to cater for someone’s cattle."
Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN whilst viewing grazing reserve, route or right bill as a subtle way to Islamise Nigeria, like many Nigerians, said the best solution is private ownership of modern-day cattle ranches with access to veterinary services, schools, Irrigation/water supply and other social amenities.
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, re-assured the public that National Assembly will not support the creation of grazing reserves anywhere in the country.
References.


Gabriel Omer Descemet

Gabriel Omer Descemet (December 1, 1879—1961) was a Senegalese colonial administrator. He served as acting lieutenant governor of Mauritania from 19 June 1931 to 22 June 1933 and lieutenant governor from 7 April 1934 to 5 July 1934. Born into a Metis family in Saint-Louis, Senegal, Descemet attended lycee in Paris and trained in Sudan. He climbed higher in the French administration than many Metis, serving for 25 years in Haut-Senegal-Niger. As governor of Mauritania, he initiated an investigation of the claims of Louis Hunkanrin, including those of murder and slavery.


Battle of Talana Hill

The Battle of Talana Hill, also known as the Battle of Glencoe, was the first major clash of the Second Boer War. A frontal attack by British infantry supported by artillery drove Boers from a hilltop position, but the British suffered heavy casualties in the process, including their commanding general Sir William Penn Symons.
Prelude.
Reinforcements sent to Natal by Britain immediately before the outbreak of war had moved into the northern path of the province of Natal, but not far enough forward to occupy the passes of the Drakensberg Mountains. As a result, the Boers could invade Natal from three sides.
Lieutenant-General Sir George White in command of forces in Natal requested that forces at Glencoe (Dundee) be withdrawn to concentrate his forces at Ladysmith where he held the bulk of the British garrison. The Governor of Natal considered it necessary to hold the position for political and economic reasons, so he dispatched Lieutenant-General Sir William Penn Symons to take control of the troops at Glencoe. War was declared at 5pm on 11 October with the Boers invading on the 12 October.
Symons commanded a brigade (four infantry battalions, part of a cavalry regiment and three companies of mounted infantry, three field artillery batteries) which occupied the coal mining town of Dundee. Coal was strategically important to the British war effort as it was needed to power the British steam locomotives. On the evening of 19 October, two Boer forces from the independent South African Republic, each numbering 4,000 men under General Lucas Meyer and General "Maroela" Erasmus closed in on Dundee.
Battle.
Before dawn on 20 October, Erasmus' force occupied Impati Mountain north of Dundee. Meyer's men occupied the low Talana Hill east of the town at , and dragged several German manufactured Krupp field guns to the top. As dawn broke and the British spotted the Boers on Talana Hill, these guns opened fire, ineffectually.
The British 16th and 69th Field Batteries galloped to within range and opened fire. Leaving the 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment and the 67th Field Battery to guard the camp, the British infantry, led by the 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers and supported in succession by the 1st Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) and the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers (RIF), moved forward to make a frontal attack, and reached the foot of the hill where they were to advance through a small wood. However they were pinned down by heavy rifle fire from the top of Talana Hill. Symons went forward to urge them on, and was mortally wounded in the stomach, although he was able to mount his horse and ride back into Dundee where he later died. Under Symons' successor, Brigadier-General James Herbert Yule, the KRRC managed to reach a small stone wall at the foot of Talana Hill, where the Dublin Fusiliers were pinned down by Boer fire. With the Royal Artillery laying down accurate fire on the summit the KRRC supported by the RIF were able to proceed up the hill. When they reached the top, they suffered casualties from their own supporting artillery. The Boers abandoned their positions on the hill. Despite the British artillery being repositioned to harass the Boer retreat, they declined to fire, worried that they might hit their own troops again.
General Lukas Meyer's forces mounted their ponies and made off. A squadron of the 18th Hussars and the British mounted infantry tried to cut off their retreat, but most of the British horsemen strayed onto the slopes of Impati. General Erasmus's men, who had so far played no part in the battle due to Impati being shrouded in fog, surrounded the British mounted detachment and forced them to surrender.
Aftermath.
The British had won a tactical victory, but at a high cost. And a copy of the British Intelligence Notes on the Dutch Republics (which underestimated the Boer numbers and armament) fell into the hands of the Boers.
Yule's men were unable to contemplate attacking Impati Hill, which held Dundee's water supply. They marched and countermarched beneath the hill for two days under intermittent shellfire. Other Boer forces had cut the British line of supply and retreat. Finally the British force retreated across country at night. After an arduous four-day march of , they reached Ladysmith, where they reinforced the garrison.


Kasa kingdom

The kingdom of Kasa, also known as Kasanga, was the dominant kingdom in lower Casamance (now Senegal) during the late 15th century. Most of the inhabitants of the realm were Banun or Kasanke. In the late 16th and early 17th century, the area fell under the domination of Kaabu.


Imbangala

The Imbangala or Mbangala were 17th-century groups of Angolan warriors and marauders who founded the Kasanje Kingdom.
Origins.
The Imbangala were people, possibly from Central Africa, who appeared in Angola during the early 17th century. Their origins are still debated. There is general agreement that they were not the same Jagas that attacked the Kingdom of Kongo during the reign of Alvaro I.
In the 1960s, it was determined that oral traditions of the Lunda Empire suggested that both groups of Jaga marauders originated in the Lunda Empire and had fled it during the 17th century. Another theory is that the Imbangala were a local people of southern Angola originating from the Bie Plateau or the coastal regions west of the highlands.
The first witness account of the Imbangala, written by an English sailor named Andrew Battell, who lived with them for 16 months around 1600–1601, places them firmly in the coastal regions and highlands of modern Angola, just south of the Kwanza River. Their leaders told Battell that they had come from a place called "Elembe" and that they had originated from a "page" in its army. Battell's story was published by Samuel Purchas partially in 1614 and fully in 1625.
Initiation and customs.
The Imbangala were a fully militarized society based entirely on initiation rites as opposed to the customary kinship rites of most African ethnic groups. To keep kinship from replacing initiation, all children born inside a "kilombo" (village) were killed. Women were allowed to leave the "kilombo" to have their children, but when they returned, the child was not considered an Imbangala until undergoing initiation. In almost Spartan-like program, children were trained daily in group and individual combat.
During training, they wore a collar that could not be removed, even after initiation, until they had killed a man in battle. Aside from infanticide rituals, the Imbangala covered themselves with ointment called "maji a samba" believed to confer invulnerability as long as the soldier followed strict set of "yijila" (codes), which required the infanticide, cannibalism and an absolute absence of cowardice.
Weapons and tactics.
Imbangala fighting men were known as "nugnza" (singular: "gonzo") and were divided into twelve squadrons, each led by a captain called a "musungo". These twelve squadrons were part of a "kilombo", a temporarily-fortified town surrounded by a wooden palisade. Each kilombo had twelve gates for the twelve squadrons that formed the total fighting force. The Imbangala army took the open field or any battlefield away from their fortifications in a three-prong formation similar to the famous Zulu "bull horn" formation. The Imbangala attacked with a right horn ("mutanda"), left horn ("muya") and vanguard ("muta ita") in the center. Unlike the Zulu, the Imbangala fought with the same weapons as their enemies, including bows, knives and swords. Their primary weapon was the war club or hatchet.
Relations with Portuguese.
Battell went to the Imbangala's country with Portuguese merchants buying their war captives to sell as slaves. At this time the Imbangala were marauders whose primary interest seemed to be pillaging the country, especially to obtain large quantities of palm wine, which they produced by a wasteful method of chopping down trees and tapping their fermented contents over a few months.
The Imbangala did not permit female members to give birth in their "kilombo" (Portuguese "quilombo"), or armed camp. Instead, they replenished their numbers by capturing adolescents and forcing them to serve in their army.
The young captives were often forced to kill and eat people, and to drink considerable alcohol. They became full members only when they had killed an enemy in combat. Cannibalism, ritual human sacrifice and torture were all featured of the "quixilla laws" (from Kimbundu "kixila", or prohibition) by which the Imbangala were said to live.
Their military capacity and ruthlessness appealed to Portuguese colonists in Angola, who had been fought to a standstill in their war against the Angolan kingdom of Ndongo during the first period of colonial rule (1575–1599). Despite professing disgust at Imbangala customs, Portuguese governors of Luanda sometimes hired them for their campaigns, beginning with Bento Banha Cardoso in 1615 but most notably after Luis Mendes de Vasconcelos's 1618 assault on Ndongo.
Mendes de Vasconcelos operated with three bands of Imbangala but soon found that they were not disciplined enough to serve the Portuguese. Kasanje's band, in particular, broke free of Portuguese control and began a long campaign of pillage that eventually established them in the Baixa de Cassange region of modern Angola along the Kwango River. The band became the modern Angolan ethnicity that calls itself Imbangala (and ceased the militant customs of its predecessors in the late 17th century).
Another band, Kaza, joined Ndongo and opposed the Portuguese before betraying Ndongo's Queen Njinga Mbande in 1629, thus frustrating that queen's attempt to preserve Ndongo's independence from a base on islands in the Kwanza River. After Njinga's short-lived attempt to join with Kasanje in 1629–30, she went to Matamba and there formed her own (or joined with another) Imbangala band led by a man known as "Njinga Mona" (Njinga's son). Though reported to be an Imbangala herself (supposedly taking an initiation rite that involved pounding up a baby in a grain mortar), Njinga probably never really became one.
Later fate.
Other bands were integrated into the Portuguese army serving as auxiliary soldiers, under their commanders and cantoned within the Portuguese territory. As the 17th century wore on, they and other bands were annihilated by one or another of the political states, such as the one formed by Njinga in Matamba. One rogue group of Imbangala set down roots and formed the Kasanje Kingdom.
South of the Kwanza, in the original homeland of the Imbangala, they continued operating much as before for a least another half a century, but even there, they gradually formed partnerships with existing political entities such as Bihe (Viye), Huambo (Wambu) or Bailundu (Mbailundu). In all these areas, their customs tended to moderate in the 18th century, cannibalism was restricted to ritual and sometimes only to symbolic occasions (for example, in the 19th century, Imbangala groups in the central highlands still practiced a ritual known as "eating the old man").


Rufus Aladesanmi III

Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III CON (born 1945) is a Yoruba Oba and the current Ewi of Ado Ekiti.
Reign.
Aladesanmi succeeded Adelabu I as the Ewi of Ado Ekiti in 1990.
He serves as the chancellor of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and was formerly the chancellor at the University of Jos.
In 2000 Aladesanmi was made a Commander of the Order of the Niger.
In 2018 Aladesanmi offered aid and support for Ayo Fayose, the Governor of Ekiti, after 400 members of the Government House were detained by police in a period of political turmoil. While laying the foundation of a new hall in Aladesanmi's official palace, Ibrahim Dankwambo, the Governor of Gombe State, also voiced support for Fayose and referred to him as the "symbol" of the People's Democratic Party. Aladesanmi and Fayose both spoke about the importance of peace and the rights of the people of Ado Ekiti in choosing their political leaders.


Dominique Roquebert

Dominique Roquebert (Bayonne 1744-Battle of Tamatave 1811) was a French navy officer.
Trained at the École d’Hydrographie de Bayonne, Roquebert rose to the rank of captain in the French Navy. In December 1809, he led Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean to Guadeloupe.
In 1811, Roquebert fought at the Battle of Tamatave, the last engagement of the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811. He was killed on his flagship, "Renommée", while covering the retreat of his squadron.
Honours.
A dock of Bayonne was named Quai du Commandant Roquebert in his honour.


Clarke Scholtz

Clarke Scholtz (12 February 1912 – 20 February 1989) was a South African middle-distance runner. He competed in the men's 800 metres and 1500 metres at the 1936 Summer Olympics.


National Union of Independents (Upper Volta)

The National Union of Independents (, UNI) was a political party in the Republic of Upper Volta led by Moussa Kargougou.
History.
The UNI was established in 1973 as a breakaway from the African Democratic Rally. Although it was banned in 1974 following a military coup, it was revived prior to the 1978 parliamentary elections, with Kargougou having been appointed as Foreign Minister in 1977.
The party received 7% of the vote in the elections, winning a single seat, which was taken by Kargougou.


List of rulers of Wanga

List of rulers of Wanga Kingdom in Kenya
Though the Wanga kingdom king's list actually starts from the re-known founder Wanga, some researchers date them back to the old Egyptian kings time where they were under the leadership of Makata. They assert that through their migration, they passed through many places such as Cameroon, Ethiopia where they were under the leadership of Simbi and Nangwera. While in Uganda they were ruled by several Buganda kings such as Muteesa, Kamaanyi, Mwanga (also Muwanga), Mbwoli (also Mbwoti), Muwanga II. Later, Wamoyi settled in Ibanda in Samia (Uganda), and Muwanga III, his son, migrated to Lela in Nyanza Kenya around the 10th century. The children of Muwanga III were Khabiakala, Wamoyi, Wanga, Wekhoba, Mukoya, Mutende and Sakwa. They all dispersed to different regions to search for a better place to live.
Muwanga III's son called Sakwa migrated to Bondo along the Lake Victoria basin. The other son Mutende, migrated southwards and settled in Kuria. The other four sons: Wamoyi, Wanga, Wekhoba and Mukoya moved to Tiriki after being invited by a cousin of them called Mukolwe who had settled earlier in Maragoli.
It is related that later, Wanga secretly moved towards the West alone and arrived in a place called Imanga in South Wanga in Mumias West sub-county. Nakhisa in his research mentions a list of kings who ruled the Wanga as follows:


2020 Liberian Senate election

Senate elections were held in Liberia on 8 December 2020, with half the seats in the Senate up for election. the elections were held concurrently with a constitutional referendum.
Disputes.
Nathaniel Blama of the Liberian National Union (LINU) called for a rerun in the election held in Gbarpolu and Grand Kru counties because of tampering with ballots.
The Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) called for a rerun of the election in the Nimba County based on allegations of fraud.


Verna Vels

Verna Barbara Robertson Vels (13 June 1933 – 21 August 2014) was a South African writer and radio/television personality. She was responsible for programs on art and programs concerning youth. She was closely involved in the planning of television programs for the establishment of the Afrikaans service and started the children's magazine. Her most famous work was "Liewe Heksie"; the stories were originally written for radio and later published and edited for television and video.
Biography.
Verna Vels was born in Reitz, Orange Free State, South Africa. She attended the University of Pretoria, and in 1954 she completed a BA degree, majoring in Afrikaans and Dutch, English and Art History.
In December 1954 she started working as a radio presenter at the SABC in Durban where she developed an interest in children's programmes. In 1963, she transferred to Johannesburg. In 1968 she worked for a year at Radio Netherlands in Hilversum Wereldomroep. In 1973 she moved to Durban as organiser of the Afrikaans Programmes in Natal and became the first woman appointed as the organiser in a region. In 1974, Vels returned to Johannesburg, where she was appointed by Television as organiser of "Afrikaans" magazine that included children's programmes. Programs such as "Kraaines" and "Wielie Walie" were created under her guidance. For all the years of its existence, she voiced "Wielie Walie"s Bennie bookworm. In the two years before television officially aired (on 5 January 1976), Vels was involved in the production and planning of programs and ultimately in the purchase of programs in foreign countries. She started writing for the radio early in her career, and most of this work was finally published.
The first "Liewe Heksie" (Dear little witch) stories were broadcast on radio in 1961. Several "Liewe Heksie" series aired.
The first "Liewe Heksie" books were published in 1965 by the publishers Human & Rousseau. Over the years, a total of 10 books, eight records, and numerous CDs, videos, and DVDs were produced. The latest book was "Liewe Heksie en die rekenaar" (Dear little witch and the computer) which appeared in 1999 (illustrated by Piet Grobler). "Liewe Heksie" made its television debut in 1978 in a series of 26 programs. A second series followed in 1981. For a total of 52 television programs, Vels edited old stories and wrote new stories. The series also gave rise to a number of books with illustrations from television. "Liewe Heksie" also appeared in plays for children at venues such as the Nico Malan-theatre in Cape Town, the Sand du Plessis Theatre in Bloemfontein and the State Theatre in Pretoria. Vels also wrote "Liewe Heksie" dramas for the "Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees" and the Drama Department of the University of Pretoria to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary.
Vels wrote a youth novel, "Alet", in 1965 for the radio; it was published in 1978 by Perskor-Publishers. She arranged several radio dramas, and did original writing for the radio programs. Original plays like for the former Little-Theatre included Helen of Troy Clemens and Uncle Bob go together and conclusion tale. It was broadcast twice. In February 1983, she was appointed Programme Director for TV1 (Afrikaans) the highest position a woman held in those years. After some restructuring within the SABC, she held several other positions and retired in 1993 after a career of nearly four decades in radio and television.
Awards.
She received several awards from Kultuurinstansies, including:
Death.
Verna Vels died from cancer on Thursday, 21 August 2014, at the age of 81.


Mauritius Regiment


List of rulers of the Mossi state of Yatenga

This is a list of rulers of Yatenga, one of the Mossi Kingdoms located in present-day Burkina Faso.