On 2 July 2010, the Ghanaian soccer team’s dreams of becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup came to an end after they were defeated by Uruguay on penalties. The team, known as the Black Stars, took the lead shortly before half-time due to Sulley Muntari’s goal. Moments later, Diego Forlan scored an equaliser through a free-kick, taking the match into extra-time. After finishing one-all at the end of regulation time, the Black Stars went down to Uruguay 4 – 2 based on penalties. The Black Stars were Africa’s last team standing at the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter finals. After Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and the host country, South Africa, were eliminated in the group stage, it seemed the whole of Africa would be left disappointed; but Ghana kept traditional African drums ringing. References: Anon, (2010), ‘World Cup 2010: Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (4-2 pen) – South Americans through to semi-finals after Gyan’s 120th minute penalty miss costs Black Stars final four place,’from Goal.com, [online] Available at www.goal.com[Accessed: 2 June 2011] Audo S, (2010), ‘ANALYSIS: "Africa's Brazil," Ghana, out to make World Cup history,’from M&G [online] Available at www.monstersandcritics.com[Accessed: 2 June 2011]

Delegates from twenty groups agreed, after preparatory talks in Johannesburg, on a date for the start of substantive negotiations on South Africa's future constitution through the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA). Its' opening session in Johannesburg was going to be on December 20 - 21. The SA government and the ruling National Party (NP) sent two separate delegations. The delegations of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) were joined at the talks by the Pan Africanist Party (PAC), Democratic Party (DP), South African Communist Party (SACP) and a host of other political parties. Delegates agreed that all the parties, including those that refused to attend the preparatory talks, would be invited to CODESA. A steering committee, comprising of a delegate from each of the twenty parties, chaired by Zach de Beer, was established in order to expedite the CODESA discussions.

Two members of the banned liberation movements, Harry Gwala, a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and Zephania Mothopeng a member of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) were released from Robben Island by the government. Both Gwala and Mothopeng served two terms on Robben Island for their political activities. After the banning of the ANC in 1960 under the Unlawful Organisations Act, Gwala became active in underground structures of the ANC until his arrest in 1964. He was charged with sabotage and recruiting members for uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). Gwala was sent to Robben Island prison. In 1972 he was released from prison and restricted to Maritzburg in Natal Province (now known as KawaZulu Natal). After the workers strike in August 1976, Gwala was arrested again with scores of ANC members and charged under the Terrorism Act. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island. In the 1980s, Gwala developed a motor neuron disease which left him disabled. Mothopeng was arrested in 1963 and sentenced in May 1964 to 3 years in prison for furthering the aims of a banned organization, the PAC. He was sent to Robben Island where he served his sentence. He was released in 1967 and restricted to Qwaqwa for two years. Mothopeng continued with his political activities and was arrested in 1976 under the Terrorism Act and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on 26 June 1979.   Even after their release, both men remained politically active within their respective organizations. Mothopeng died on 23 October 1990 and Gwala died of a heart failure on 21 June 1995.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) proposed a truce with the African National Congress (ANC) as an effort to distil violent clashes between members of the two parties. The Secretary General of the IFP, Oscar Dhlomo, communicated the peace offer to the ANC in exile. Despite this effort, the IFP still maintained prospects for peace were unlikely for as long as the Frontline States were not part of any negotiations. The IFP consistently maintained that it was not responsible for the violence between the ANC and itself. The IFP blamed the violence on the South African government. In London 1979, the two parties established a co-operative relationship. However, this relationship deteriorated when the United Democratic Front was formed in 1985 and began to expand into the IFP stronghold, Kwazulu-Natal. Click here to read more about IFP and ANC tension Click here to read more about the role of State violence in South Africa. Click here to read about the increase of Inkatha violence. Click here the role of the state in this violence.

On 27 November 1976 the offices of the Christian Institute (CI) and the South African Council of Churches (SACC), two religious formations considered to have links with the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) were raided by security police. This was part of a campaign following the outbreak of the Soweto Revolt on 16 June 1976. Dr. Beyers Naude, founder and Chief Director of CI, was arrested a month earlier on 28 October 1976. Dr. Naude had been ordered to give evidence to the Schlebusch Commission of Enquiry and he refused. The Schlebusch Commission was established to investigate the CI, the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) and the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR). Security Police believed that these formations, even though made up predominantly of White members, were nevertheless giving support to the rioting students and to the BCM. It is not clear what the search yielded, but the police were probably looking for any materials that could link these formations to the BCM and the Soweto Revolt.   A year later, in October 1977 the then Minister of Justice, Jimmy Kruger, banned all organisations associated with BCM. The list of organisations banned included the CI.

Trade unionist, Lameck Koniwaka Kadali Muwamba, known by his adopted name, Clements Kadalie, was born in April 1896, near the Bandawe mission station in Nyasaland, now Malawi. After being educated at the Church of Scotland mission station, he was trained as a teacher. In 1915, he went to South African in search of work. Three years later, he had settled in Cape Town and had befriended Arthur F. Batty, who was a political activist and trade unionist. It was through Batty's encouragement that Kadalie established the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU) in 1919. The purpose of this union was to protect the rights of workers, particularly those of Black workers. In the same year, Kadalie led a dockworker's strike, in which all goods were prevented from being exported at Cape Town's harbour. By 1927 the ICU had around 100,000 members. Kadalie welcomed cooperation with other organizations, such as the Communist Party of South Africa (now SACP). Due to his activities, Kadalie was classified as a "prohibited immigrant" and was deported from South Africa in 1924. By 1928, the ICU was marked by internal strife, and in 1928, Kadalie was forced to resign. He then established his own branch of the ICU in East London and became a provincial African National Congress (ANC) organiser. Kadalie's attempts to relaunch his trade unionist campaign nationally during the 1930s and 40s failed, but he is credited with having united Black wage earners in South Africa into an unparalleled force. On 28 November 1951, he passed away in East London.

The Girl Guide movement shares its roots with the Boy Scout movement that was founded by Baden-Powell during the South African War of 1899-1902. During the war Baden-Powell, a British officer enlisted boys to act as messengers and organised these messengers into patrols. Each patrol had a leader. This scheme was so successful that on his return to England, he decided to continue the programme to teach young boys the skills of camping, teamwork, pioneering, leadership, pioneering and stalking.  Powell was pleasantly surprised at a scout rally at Crystal Palace in 1909, when a significant number of girls, dressed as scouts attended. He then realised that he should start a similar movement for girls. The name 'Girl Guides' came from Powell's experiences in India, where a group of men, who went by the name 'Guides' undertook dangerous expeditions in the North-West frontier. The name 'Girl Guides' was decided upon as the title of these pioneering young women.  Powell, together with his sister, Agnes wrote the Girl Guide Handbook, which was called 'How Girls can help build up the Empire". On 31 May 1910, the Girl Guides were formed with Agnes Baden-Powell as the First President of the Girl Guides movement. References: Girl Guides International History (online), available at: http://www.girlguides.org.sg [Accessed 17 May 2010] Some Aspects of Lord Baden-Powell and the Scouts at Modderfontein (online), available at: http://samilitaryhistory.org [Accessed 17 May 2010]

From the beginning of colonialism in the 1880s following the 'scramble for Africa', Congo had been regarded as King Leopold II's personal fiefdom. Leopold's administration of the Congo is reputed to have been ruthless and brutal. The decision to transfer Congo to the Belgian Government followed intense criticism of Leopold's policies toward the Congolese. Atrocities committed by colonial officials in the Congo were circulated in Europe, provoking widespread condemnation of Leopold's policies. These are chronicled in the book "The Heart of Darkness”, which was to be the most graphic account of the excesses committed by colonial officials on their subjects in Africa. Belgium and Leopold's business interests in the Congo were in the rubber industry. Africans, employed as labourers by the company, were subjected to extreme levels of violence to ensure that they met the targets set for them by the officials. Failure to achieve the targets was followed by extreme levels of violence meted out to the workers. One of such incidents, which occurred in early 1900s, was widely covered by the media across Europe. This helped persuade the Belgian government to demand that Leopold II hand over the colony to them.  

The inability of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR or Transvaal Republic) under President Francois Burgers to score a decided victory in the Sekhukhune War, presented the opportunity to the British to annex Transvaal in 1877. Soon afterwards, Britain declared war against King Sekhukhune, paramount chief of the Bapedi. After three unsuccessful attempts he was defeated by two British regiments under Sir Garnet Wolseley, assisted by 8 000 Swazis. About 1 000 Bapedi were killed, including Sekhukhune's heir, Morwamoche. Sekhukhune fled to the Mamatamageng cave where he was captured on 2 December 1879 and sent to prison in Pretoria. When the Transvaal again became independent after the Anglo-Boer War 1 in 1881, he was freed under article 23 of the Pretoria Convention signed between Britain and the Boers, and he was granted a location. Sekhukhune was murdered shortly afterwards on 13 August 1882 by his half-brother Mampuru.   Click here to read more about the Sekhukhune Wars.

Founder of and first commander of Cape Town, Johan Anthoniszoon van Riebeeck, was born in Culemborg in the Netherlands on 21 April 1619. An administrator for the Dutch East India Company (DEIC), van Riebeeck landed at the southern tip of Africa on 6 April 1652 in order to create a settlement for the DEIC. His arrival therefore opened South Africa for white settlement. Van Riebeeck remains a prominent figure in the early history of colonial South Africa, and he was commander of the colony at the Cape of Good Hope from 1652 until 1662.