TODAY IN HISTORY

1888: One of the earlier writers in Xhosa, William Wellington Gqoba, who was also an editor, teacher, catechist, interpreter and wagon maker, dies at Lovedale.

1941: South African forces capture the Abyssinian fortress of Dessie, located between Addis Ababa and Amba Alagi.

2008: Zimbabwe’s electoral commission says a recount of votes for 10 parliamentary seats shows the opposition MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, pictured, won six of them in the previous month’s elections, making it unlikely that Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF can wrest control of parliament.