Africa Between 1970 - 1979

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End of civil war in Nigeria, which claimed more than half million lives. The surrender of Biafra
President Obote's "Common Man's Charter" is introduced in Uganda
President Nasser dies in Cairo; thousands attend his funeral
President Mobutu begins "Authenticité" campaign, changes his name from Joseph-Désiré to Mobutu Sese-Seko, renames the Congo Zaire, and orders the removal from public view of all symbols of colonial rule, including the bronze figure of the Belgian King Léoplod II in the center of Kinshasa
Fédération Panafricaine des Cinéastes (FEPACI) is formed in Algiers
Burkina Faso nationalizes film distribution and production, creating SONAVICI

Idi Amin deposes President Milton Obote of Uganda, in a military coup, beginning one of the most repressive regimes in Africa
Central African republic recognizes South Africa; receives economic aid
Declaration of Mogadishu issued by eastern and central African states annoucing their intention to continue armed struggle to liberate South Africa
African National Council formed in Rhodesia by Bishop Abel Muzorewa

Strong armed resistance to settlers' regime (installed 1965) in Rhodesia develops with aid of FRELIMO in Mozambique
Kwame Nkrumah dies in exile in Guinea
Wole Soyinka publishes "The Man Died", his prison memoirs
Hutu guerillas in Burundi kill over 10,000 Tutsis in an attempted coup
Tanzania and Uganda sign peace treaty
Safi Faye makes her first, short film, "The Passerby", as the first black African woman to direct a feature film
Chad and Nigeria sign treaty of cooperation and mutual assistance
Asians expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin
Pearce Commission in Rhodesia reports that the African population says "no" to settlement proposals

3,999 foreigners from Africa are registered in Berlin (West)
Founding of 8 nations in Africa including Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe (until 1981)
Nationalists in Guinea-Bissau declare independent state
Mali and Nigeria sign treaty of cooperation and mutual assistance
Zambia-Rhodesia border closed by President Kaunda
Massive strikes by black mine workers in South Africa
First All-African Games held in Lagos
Djibril Diop Mambéty's seminal film "Touki Bouki" is released in Senegal
Youssef Chahine's "Sparrow" is released
Ethiopian director Haile Gerima's Harvest 3000 is released
Prime Minister of Rhodesia begins talks with African nationalists in an attempt to reach an internal settlement

Guinea-Bissau fully independent
Emperor Haile Selassie is overthrown by a military coup ending the rule of the world's longest royal dinasty
Sixth Pan-Arican Congress held in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, with representative from various liberation movements, including ANC, SWAPO, and FRELIMO
Overthrow of Portuguese dictatorship (Revolução dos Cravos) by young army officers in Portugal opens way to acceptance of need to decolonise
End of the renationalization process for Black Germans who were expatriated during the Nazi period, their spouses as well as their children, born after 1945

Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Angola gain independence from Portugal
General Yakuba Gowon is overthrown in Nigeria's third, bloodiest military coup, to be replaced by Brigadier Murtala Ramat Muhammed
Dahomey is renamed People's Republic of Benin
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia dies in detention; his body is secretely buried by military junta
Lomé Agreement signed between EEC and thirty-seven African states
Great year for African cinema: Ousmane Sembène releases his influencial film "Xala"; Lakhdar Hamina's film "Chronique des années de braise" is awarded the Palme d'or at the Cannes Fim Festival
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is founded - Treaty signed by fifteen states
Tanzam Raiway is opened between Zambia and Tanzania
Four "front-line" presidents at Quilemane pledge support for the Zimbabwe National Liberation Army
South African troops invade newly created Republic of Angola in support of UNITA forces but are defeated with aid by Cuban reinforcements
International Court at hague finds that Western Sahara, decolonised by Spain, has right of self-determination; but Morocco and Mauretania decide partition of territory. Armed resistance by Western Saharans (Polisario Front) defeats Mauretania but war against Moroccan invasion continues, leading, in 1983, to serious split within OAU.

Nigerian Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed, is assassinated in unsuccessful coup d'état and succeeded by Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo
Israeli commandos raid Entebbe Aiport in Kampala and successfully rescue Israeli hostages held by Palestinian Liberation Organization guerillas
Brief war between Ethiopia and Somalia over future of Somali-peopled Ogaden province of Ethiopian empire.
Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia sign agreement on regional defence cooperation
Soweto uprising begins in South Africa; Hector Peterson, aged eleven, is the first student killed
South Africa declares Transkei, one of the Bantustans created by the apartheid regime to enforce further black segregation from the white population, independent
Safi Faye directs her first full-length feature film, A Letter from my Village
Institut Africain d'Education Cinématographique (INAFEC) is set up in Burkina Faso to train filmmakers

Steve Biko, founder and leader of Black Consciousness Movement, is killed in police custody
UN imposes embargo on arms and trade with South Africa
Djibouti becomes independent state; final withdrawal of the French from African territory
Central African Empire proclaimed by Jean Bedel Bokassa, who crowns himself emperor
Second World Black Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC), the largest cultural event ever on the African continent, is held in Lagos, with over 17,000 participants from over fifty countries

South African Black Consciousness Movements's Azanian People's Organization (AZAPO) is formed
South African forces attack South West African People's Organization refugee camp in Angola
Armed resistance by SWAPO (South-West African People's Organisation) to continued South African rule in Namibia gains new strength
ANC launches new campaigns of armed resistance, aimed chiefly against industrial targets and scores successes
Jomo Kenyatta, statesman, nationalist, independence and anticolonial leader, pan-Africanist, and Kenya's first president, dies in Mombasa
Transitional government under Bishop Abel Muzorewa is formed in Rhodesia
Anwar Sadat of Egypt signs the historic Camp David Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C., with Israel's Menachem Begin, and becomes first arab leader to visit Jerusalem
Malian film director Souleyman Cissé makes "Baara"
Ivorian sculptor Christian Lattier dies in Abidjan

Tanzanian and Ugandan exiles, as part of Ugandan Liberation Front, invade Uganda to overthrow Idi Amin, who flees from the country after the fall of Kampala
Ethiopia and Kenya sign cooperation treaty
Souleyman Cissé is arrested by the Malian government for making the film "Den Moussa"
Civilian rule is restored in Ghana after Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings attempts, for several months, to seize power in his first attempted military coup
Elections and return of civilian rule in Nigeria and the inauguration of second republic
Emperor Bokassa is overthrown and Central African republic is established
Consortium Inter-Africain de Distribution Cinématographique (CIDC) is formed to create a common market in francophone Africa
Guest workers from, among others, the African countries of Algeria, Angola, Libya, Mozambique in the GDR (until 1989)
1985 Founding of the Europa-Afrika-Kulturzentrum (EURAFRI) (European-African Cultural Center)
Founding of the Initiative Schwarze Deutsche und Schwarze in Deutschland (ISD) (Initiative of Black Germans and Blacks in Germany).