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Ghana president Kwame Nkrumah passes the Preventive Detention Act
This Act was passed by Kwame Nkrumah because of his growing paranoia. The act permitted his subjects to arrest anyone suspected of treason-without trial-and be locked up for up to five years. The Act was amended in 1959 and 1962 and seen by some as a violation of freedom and human rights. -
The Republic of Congo gains independence from Belgium
The Congo had long been under Belgium control. After 52 years of control by another nation, acquiring their own land again probably gave a sense of pride and honor to the Congolese. This new independence also came with the first national election of Patrice Lumumba, the leader of the Congolese National Movement. -
Angola gains their independence
On November 11, 1975 the African state of Angola gained its independence. This event was followed by the proclamation of their first president, Dr. Agostinho Neto and likely a lot of honor and pride in their nation. -
Cape Verde creates a constitution
Cape Verde created a constitutino in 1980. This constitution was revised in 1992, 1995, and 1999. This was a significant event because this constitution was the foundation for their government: giving them room to prosper as a country. -
Senegal has first cases of HIV/AIDS
Senegal recieved their first cases of HIV/AIDS in 1986, only a few years after it had been discovered. This was great because Senegal quickly worked to prevent many more cases of HIV/AIDS-one of these ways including creating a "National Council Against AIDS." Senegal is praised because their rates of infection for the past 15 years have been below 1%, on average. -
The LRA is formed
Joseph Kony formed this army of child soldiers in 1987 to overthrow the government in Uganada and turn it into a theocratic state. Since it's beginnings, the LRA is responsible for abducting over 30,000 children and killing about 100,000 people. -
The Rwandan Genocide
Members of the Hutu in Rwanda murdered more than 800,000 (about 75%) of the Rwandan Tutsi population. It began in the capital of Kigali and spread very rapidly, killing this man people within the span of 4 months. To add to that, when the resistance had came many people had fled Rwanda which were mainly Hutus amongs 2 million refugees. -
Nigeria hangs human rights activists
On November 10, 1995 Nigeria hung 9 human rights activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa. After these events, Nelson Mandela's delegation reccomended the suspension of Nigeria from the "Commonwealth" until a democratic government was put in place. -
The remains of "Toumai" are discovered in Chad
Remains of the hominid species "Sahelanthropus tchadensis" (nicknamed Toumai) were discovered by a French-Canadian expedition led by Michael Brunet. This is one of the few hominid remains found in Central Africa and is the oldest-dating about one million years older than the next known hominid. This was a milestone in discovering the history of humanity. -
African Union suspends Madagascar
Madagascar was suspended from the African Union because the army forced the president from power and replaced him with a new leader, Andry Rajoelina. This was significant because the states of Southern Africa said they would not recognize Rajoelina as Madagascar's president, United States cut off most of their aid to Madagascar and they only had 6 months to restore their proper government.