Thabo Mbeki celebrates 120 years of the ADWA victory

Former President Thabo Mbeki was the keynote speaker at a session to celebrate 120 years of the battle of ADWA. This session was part of the Africa Unity for Renaissance Conference & Africa Day Expo on 25 May 2016.

The session took place at Ditsong Museum of South Africa in Tshwane.

He will addressed the session on “The 120 Years of the Adwa African Victory.” Led by Empress Taitu, the wife of Emperor Menelik II, and the Emperor’s generals, the patriotic Ethiopian army defeated the Italian colonial forces at Adwa, Ethiopia on 1 March 1896 and thus secured Ethiopia’s independence from colonial rule.

The victory at Adwa would later serve as an inspiration in the struggle against colonial rule to subsequent generations of Ethiopians and other Africans throughout the Continent.