Today marks 47 years since the brutal assault by apartheid South African forces on a refugee camp in southern Angola, where hundreds—primarily women and children—lost their lives. 

This tragic event, known as the Cassinga massacre, is remembered every 4 May in Namibia. 

The camp had sheltered around 11,000 to 12,000 Namibians fleeing the violence of apartheid and the armed struggle for freedom that the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) took up against apartheid forces. 

At dawn on 4 May 1978, fighter jets unleashed their fury, followed by nearly 400 South African paratroopers descending under 'Operation Reindeer.' In just five hours, South African troops left behind a scene of devastation, claiming the lives of nearly 800 Namibians and injuring over 1,000, marking one of the darkest days in the struggle against apartheid. 

Continued….. Even though the apartheid regime claimed the camp was a military base, the world was horrified as reports from journalists and UN representatives confirmed the tragic reality: Innocent refugees were slaughtered. 

Today, we remember the lives lost and honour the courage of the SWAPO fighters, whose courage and determination liberated Namibia from the South African apartheid regime on 21 March 1990.

Sources

https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/south-african-defence-force-sadf-attacks-namibian-refugee-camp-cassinga-angola

https://www.observer24.com.na/bloody-massacre-remembered-on-cassinga-day/

https://www.namibian.com.na/the-legacy-of-cassinga/

https://neweralive.na/cassinga-horrors-remembered/

AFRICA: ‘SUNNY HORROR’ OR ‘GARDEN OF PARADISE’?

Every tool in the box has been used to subjugate the African mind, including language - in particular, the name used for our homeland. The word ‘Africa’ is a mix of Greek and Latin - and the meaning, when you unpack it, isn’t great: sunny horror! Yes, we do get a lot of sun, and some days the sun feels intense, but there’s a much better name for our lands that our ancestors used: ‘Alkebulan.’ It means garden of Eden or mother of mankind. African Stream’s Erick Gavala asks, ‘What’s in a name?’

Sources

https://www.awaytoafrica.com/know-african-roots/

GOOD NEWS SUNDAY!

The news seems all doom and gloom these days, so we’ve decided to start showcasing some of the more cheery developments from our beloved Africa. From free university education, to defeating viruses, to showing Trump how it’s done - here’s this week’s pick of good news from the continent. What did we miss?

Sources

https://apnews.com/article/namibia-president-education-free-netumbo-nandindaitwah-e2ba928f6deb9f69553a82d6a9150a96

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2025-04-28-kenya-relieved-as-uganda-declares-end-of-ebola-outbreak

https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20250426-%F0%9F%8C%9Fthe-bright-side-uganda-declares-end-to-6th-ebola-outbreak

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business-tech/tanzania-lifts-ban-on-imports-from-south-africa-malawi-5020402

FORMER CIA AGENT: U.S. WAGES WAR ON DEMOCRACY

For decades, the CIA has actively worked to suppress sovereign states that dared to chart independent paths. Under the guise of protecting ‘freedom’ and ‘countering communism’, the US systematically destabilised governments, assassinated revolutionary leaders, and installed puppet leaders that would serve US geopolitical and economic interests, particularly across the Global South. 

This clip from late journalist John Pilger’s documentary, ‘The War on Democracy’ (2007), explores Washington’s overt and covert interventions that toppled a series of legitimate governments in its war against self-determination across the Americas and Africa.

Pilger (1939-2023) interviewed several former CIA agents who admitted their roles in secret campaigns against democratic countries abroad.

Continued……
From the brutal overthrow and assassination of Congo’s Patrice Lumumba (1925-61)—whose vision for a united, self-determined Africa posed a threat to Western exploitation—to the toppling of Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72)—a champion of Pan-Africanism—the CIA’s fingerprints demonstrate the US was stamping out democracy before it could fully bloom. This is proof that the so-called ‘defenders of democracy’ really k*lled African freedom. The assassinations and regime change were part of a broader imperial strategy to ensure newly independent states remained subordinate to Western powers, especially when their leaders pursued non-aligned or socialist policies.

Video credit: ‘The War On Democracy,’ John Pilger (@johnpilger on X) (2007)

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gNcQZSmG9Y

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000572911.pdf

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/1/17/symbol-of-resistance-lumumba-the-congolese-hero-killed-before-his-prime