On this Day in History 9 October
Learn what happened on this day in history
Sunday, 9 October 1803
On 9 October 1803, Commissioner General Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist left Cape Town on a 167-day journey into the interior, accompanied by his daughter, Augusta, her companion, Mietjie Versveld, one of his four sons and Dr Heinrich Lichtenstein, an explorer.
The travelling party first went northwards to Saldahna and St Helena Bay, and then to present-day Calvinia, Sutherland and Tulbagh. They then turned eastwards towards Swellendam and Mossel Bay, proceeding to Algoa Bay and the junction of the Great and Little Fish Rivers.
The ladies remained behind while De Mist met Gaika, a Xhosa chief. After this they travelled to Graaff-Reinet, where Augusta fell ill. She refused to be left behind, and continued the journey with her bed in one of the wagons. They proceeded via Beaufort West, Prince Albert and Worcester on their way back to Cape Town, which they reached on 23 March 1804.
Augusta’s travel journal, which recorded this journey, was later published in French as Relation d’un voyage en Afrique et en Amerique, par Madamoiselle Augusta Uitenhage de Mist. The only known copy is in the Library of Congress in Washington. The English title of the book is Diary of a journey into the Cape of Good Hope and the interior of Africa in 1802 and 1803 by Jonkvrou Augusta Uitenhage de Mist. It was translated by Dr Edmund Burrows in 1954.
Friday, 9 October 1953
The Nationalist Party (NP) government developed the concept of allocation of resources such as general infrastructure, education and jobs and formalised this into law. The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act 49 of 1953 provided that there should be separate amenities such as toilets, parks and beaches for different racial groups. Subsequently, apartheid signs indicating which people were permitted to enter/ use the facilities were displayed throughout the country. The standard of amenities for non-Whites was generally lower than those for Whites.
Tuesday, 9 October 1962
The East African country Uganda gained its independence from Great Britain as a parliamentary democratic monarchy, with its traditional kingdoms (Ankole, Buganda, Bunyoro and Toro) receiving federal status and a degree of autonomy. Buganda, under the leadership of Sir Edward Mutesa, was the most powerful kingdom. Milton Obote, the leader of the socialist Uganda People’s Congress became the first prime minister of the newly independent Uganda. In 1963, Uganda became the Republic of Uganda, with Major General Sir Edward Frederick William David Walugembe Mutebi Luwangula Muteesa II (commonly referred to as Mutesa II) as its first (largely ceremonial) president.
Wednesday, 9 October 1963
On this day, fifty years ago, the Rivonia trialists were charged with sabotage and attempting to violently overthrow the South African government. After a raid by conducted by the security police at Lilliesleaf Farm on 11 July 1963, the police arrested many prominent leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). Amongst them were Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Rusty Bernstein, Dennis Goldberg, James Kantor, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi, Raymond Mhlaba and Bob Hepple.
According to reports, a police informer named Gerard Ludi leaked the information about the whereabouts of the MK headquarters. In gathering evidence to be used in the trial against the accused, the police were also able to arrest others such as Nelson Mandela. When the Lilliesleaf raid occurred, Nelson Mandela was serving a five-year sentence for incitement and leaving the country illegally. During the raid police discovered documentation, including notes he made from his readings about guerrilla warfare and a diary he had kept during his Africa trip, implicating Mandela in MK’s activities. The accused appeared before Justice Quartus de Wet. The incident occurred three years after the banishment of the ANC, the Pan Africanist Congress and other liberation movements in April 1960.
Saturday, 9 October 2004
The Partnership against HIV/AIDS was launched in 1998 by the then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki . He made a call on all South Africans to join hands to fight the epidemic. The 6th anniversary celebration of the day was held in Greenhills Stadium, Randfontein. The keynote address was presented by former Deputy President Jacob Zuma. He called upon South Africans to recommit themselves to the pledges made during the launch of the partnership.
Sunday, 9 October 2005
A 38-year-old South African man, Lance Dyer, was arrested by French police on 9 October 2005 after he walked through the Channel Tunnel between Folkenstone in England and Calaise in France in his flip-flops. Trains travelling at a speed of 100 mph pass through the tunnel regularly. The speed at which they travel causes a vacuum effect that sucks in everything near them. It remains a mystery how Dyer managed to survive the highly dangerous 15-hour trip through the tunnel, and how he managed to evade surveillance cameras for much of the trip. The train company, Eurotunnel, believed that Dyer might have achieved this by taking advantage of a malfunction in the surveillance system.
It is reported that when Dyer emerged at the French end of the tunnel, he was disorientated and rambling. He was arrested on the spot and handed over to the Kent police. He was charged with public nuisance and endangering life by being in the tunnel. The French blamed the British for the incident since Dyer entered the tunnel undetected on their watch.
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