Saturday, 20 August 1892
The Transvaal National Union, a political organisation, was set up with J. Tudhope as president. The principal reason behind its formation was to further the interests of Uitlanders (Foreigners i.e. immigrants from abroad who flocked to the ZAR after the discovery of gold) and to campaign for equal franchise rights for all White men in the Transvaal. The union became an instrument of subversion, a tool of Rhodes, Jameson and the mine owners who conspired to bring about the abortive putsch, the Jameson Raid, in 1896.
Thursday, 20 August 1908
King Leopold II of Belgium handed over the Congo to the Belgian state on this date. Previously he held it as a private project undertaken to extract rubber and ivory in the Congo region of central Africa. He operated under the pretext of protecting the “natives” from Arab slavers and opening the heart of Africa to Christian missionaries. The king and his officials relied on forced labour and his reign resulted in the deaths of millions of Congolese. Reports of outrageous exploitation and widespread human rights abuses (including enslavement and mutilation of the native population), especially in the rubber industry, led to an international protest movement in the early 1900s.
As a possession of Belgium, the Congo Free State became known as the Belgian Congo. After independence in 1960 it was renamed Zaire and is now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Saturday, 20 August 1983
The South African anti-apartheid umbrella organization, United Democratic Front (UDF) was launched at Rocklands Community Centre in Mitchell’s Plain in Cape Town on 20 August 1983. Its inception was inspired by the union of anti-apartheid organizations in opposing the Tricameral Constitution about to be introduced by the Apartheid Government.The launch date was chosen deliberately to coincide with the date the government had initially chosen to introduce the Tricameral Constitution. The constitution was intended to give little recognition to Indians and Coloureds and none to Blacks.
Fifteen thousand people defied threats by the apartheid government and attended the national launch. Rev Frank Chikane, who was the first major speaker was shot during the launch but survived. He called the day “a turning point in the struggle for freedom”. The UDF disbanded in 1991.
Saturday, 20 August 1994
The South African junior feartherweight, Vuyani Bungu, registered a stunning victory against highly rated American Kennedy McKinney at Carousel to lift the International Boxing Federation (IBF) world title. The victory earned Bungu recognition and respect as he was playing second fiddle to his stablemate Welcome Ncita, who had failed to retain the same title from McKinney.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
