Ngina Kenyetta is the former First Lady of Kenya, widow of Mzee Jomo Kenyetta (the first president of Kenya), the mother of Uhuru Kenyetta (Kenya’s fourth president), and a recipient of the Macky Sall Prize for Dialogue in Africa (2019). She was born Ngina Muhoho … Read MoreNgina Kenyetta (1933- )
Scholars have been able to assemble only a meager amount of information about Queen Turunku Bakwa of Zazzau, at that time, the largest and most powerful of the Hausa city-states in what is now Northern Nigeria. It could be because she remained in the shadow … Read MoreQueen Turunku Bakwa (?-1566)
Few scholars have seriously attempted to examine the origin and life of the 10th-century Black Jewish woman from the tribe of Dan, who is popularly known as Judith, Queen of the Falashas. Sometimes called Kaila, her existence remains an enigma, involving numerous research conflicts and … Read MoreJudith, Queen of the Falashas (10th c.)
Madam Yoko, born Soma in the Gbo Chiefdom, was the head of the Mende people of Sierra Leone. She ruled the extensive Kpa Mende Confederacy for decades before her death. Also known as Mammy Yoko, she and three brothers were raised by their warrior father … Read MoreMadam Yoko (c. 1849-1906)
Mmanthatisi was the chief military strategist of the Tlowka people in early 19th Century South Africa. Mmanthatisi was born in 1784 to Mothaha, chief of the Basia ethnic group and an unnamed mother. At a young age, Mmanthatisi was sent to marry her cousin, Mokotjo, … Read MoreMmanthatisi (1784-1847)
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Rose Kanyange Kabuye rose to the highest rank in the Rwandan Army. She was also an advocate for the training of women leaders. Rose Kanyange was born on April 22, 1961, in Muvumba, Rwanda, to Kabuye Kanyange of the ‘Bazigaba’ clan. Information … Read MoreRose Kanyange Kabuye (1961- )
Madagascar’s queen, Ranavalona III, was born Princess Razafindrahety in Amparibe, Manjakazafy, Madagascar, on November 22, 1861. She was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. Reared as a Protestant, her formal education was completed privately by London Missionary Society instructors. Her parents were Andriantsimianatra … Read MoreQueen Ranavalona III (1861-1917)
Maria Mambo Café was an Angolan economist and politician. She was a career member of the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola – Partido do Trabalho. Café was born in 1945 in Cabinda Province, an exclave of Angola in the northern part of the country. … Read MoreMaria Mambo Café (1945-2013)
Queen Amina was a warrior and ruler of Zaria, a Hausa city-state in what is now Northern Nigeria. She ruled for 34 years from 1576 until she died in 1610. Around 1533, Queen Amina was born as Aminatu, a royal family member. Her grandfather was … Read MoreQueen Amina (1533-1610)
Queen Nandi was a South African Zulu Queen and mother to Shaka Zulu. She was born Nandi Ndlovukazi kaBhebe in Melmoth, a small town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in the 1760s. The word Nandi means The Sweet One. Her father, Bhebhe, was a minor chief. … Read MoreQueen Nandi (1766-1827)
