August 18

August 18 is the 230th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 136 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Pre-colonial

• c. 1700 – Oral histories of the Bisa trading caravans record reaching the Lunda heartland on the “eighteenth day of the eighth moon” to exchange copper crosses for salt and beads.

Colonial era

• 1891 – British South Africa Company formally notifies Chief Mpezeni that the “Porter Agreement” is ratified; Mpezeni’s envoys mark the day with a royal hunt.
• 1911 – Rhodesia-Nyasaland Field Force crosses the Zambezi at Kazungula to suppress the Mwemba uprising.
• 1925 – First scheduled air-mail flight from Livingstone to Cape Town departs at 08:15.
• 1938 – Legislative Council debates establishment of the Copperbelt Power Company; motion carried 12–3.
• 1958 – Kenneth Kaunda arrested in Kabwe for “unlawful assembly” after addressing striking mine workers.

Post-independence

• 1965 – President Kaunda inaugurates the TAZAMA Pipeline Pump Station in Ndola.
• 1973 – Second Republic referendum: 84.8% vote in favour of one-party participatory democracy.
• 1981 – UNZA students stage a sit-in demanding restoration of meal allowances; police disperse protest at 03:00.
• 1990 – Zambia beats Swaziland 2–0 in AFCON qualifier.
• 1991 – MMD launches its party manifesto at Garden House, Lusaka.
• 1994 – Final flight of Zambia Airways ends in crash-landing at Kasaba Bay; no fatalities.
• 2005 – Zamtel privatisation bill passes second reading.
• 2011 – President Banda launches LinkZambia 8000 fibre-optic project.
• 2016 – Hakainde Hichilema files first of 14 presidential election petitions.
• 2020 – Constitutional Court rules that ministers who remained after dissolution of parliament in 2016 must repay K4.3 million.
• 2021 – Zambia records 1,051 new COVID-19 cases—highest daily figure during Delta wave.
• 2022 – IMF approves 38-month US$1.3 billion credit facility for Zambia.
• 2023 – President Hichilema appoints Lt-Gen Maliti Solochi as Zambia Air Force commander.
• 2024 – DEC seizes 1.2 tonnes of cocaine worth US$120 million at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.

Politics & government milestones

• 1968 – First local government elections after independence held in 14 municipal councils.
• 1979 – President Kaunda announces Chona Commission will begin provincial consultations on 1 Sep.
• 1996 – Parliament passes constitutional amendment barring first-generation Zambians from the presidency.
• 2015 – President Edgar Lungu assents to the amended Constitution Act No. 2 of 2016.

Military & security milestones

• 1975 – Zambia National Service conducts first joint parachute training with Yugoslav instructors at Makeni Range.
• 1999 – First class of 42 officers graduates from Defence Services Command and Staff College.
• 2018 – Zambia deploys 125 troops to MINUSCA peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic.

Economic & labour history

• 1930 – Roan Antelope Mine records first copper concentrate export (15 tonnes).
• 1952 – African Mineworkers’ Union organises 24-hour pay strike; 38,000 workers stay home.
• 1970 – First 50 ngwee coin issued by Bank of Zambia.
• 1992 – Kwacha devalued by 29% (K15 → K22 per US$).
• 2006 – ZESCO signs US$60m loan with China Exim Bank for Kafue Gorge Lower study.
• 2020 – LuSE launches electronic trading platform.

Sports highlights

Football – All matches on 18 August

• 1974 – Zambia 4–0 Mauritius (AFCON qualifier, Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium).
• 1979 – Zambia 2–0 Morocco (friendly).
• 1984 – Zambia 1–1 Zimbabwe (CHAN qualifier).
• 1990 – Zambia 2–0 Swaziland (CHAN qualifier).
• 1995 – Zambia 1–0 Angola (Nations Cup qualifier).
• 2001 – Zambia 1–0 Sudan (CHAN qualifier).
• 2007 – Zambia 3–0 South Africa (CHAN qualifier).
• 2013 – Zambia 1–0 Lesotho (CHAN qualifier).
• 2019 – Zambia 1–1 Benin (CHAN qualifier).

Other sports

• 2006 – Rugby: Zambia 22–18 Kenya (CAR Trophy, Ndola).
• 2018 – Netball: Zambia 48–45 Namibia (Diamond Challenge, Singapore).
• 1978 – Athletics: Godfrey Chikwanda wins 10,000m at East & Central Africa Champs in 30:01.4.

Arts, media & pop culture

• 1973 – Zamrock band WITCH records "Introduction" at Malachite Film Studios, Chingola.
• 1989 – First national drama festival opens at Mindolo Ecumenical Centre.
• 2007 – Mwanga (Slapdee) releases debut album *So Che*.
• 2018 – Lusaka National Museum opens retrospective for sculptor Friday Tembo.

Disasters & memorials

• 1979 – Bwana Mkubwa tailings dam explosion kills 11 workers.
• 2005 – Proflight Cessna Caravan crash near Lukulu; 13 fatalities.
• 2012 – Flash floods destroy 200 homes in Kanyama compound.
• 1997 – National memorial service held for 1993 Gabon air disaster victims.

Religion & mission history

• 1885 – French White Fathers establish Chilubula Mission.
• 1951 – United Church of Zambia (then CCAP) ordains Rev. David Kaunda.
• 2014 – Catholic bishops release pastoral letter "Rebuild Our Nation."

Environment & climate

• 2001 – Kasanka Trust records earliest arrival of straw-coloured fruit bat migration (8.5 million).
• 2017 – Zambezi River Authority opens Kariba Dam floodgates after lake reaches 488.01m.
• 2023 – Zambia becomes first landlocked member of Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA).

Notable births

• 1922 – Simon Kapwepwe, 2nd Vice-President of Zambia.
• 1948 – Sikota Wina, politician and first ZNBC director-general.
• 1968 – Kalusha Bwalya, national team legend and 1988 African Footballer of the Year.
• 1971 – Maureen Nkandu, journalist and broadcaster.

Notable deaths

• 1972 – Sir Stewart Gore-Browne, founder of Shiwa Ng’andu.
• 1989 – Reuben Kamanga, first Vice-President of Zambia.
• 2018 – Justice Wila Mung’omba, Supreme Court judge.

Oddities & trivia

• 1990 AFCON qualifying win on this day launched Zambia’s historic 2013 Nations Cup campaign.
• On 18 August 1976, the kwacha was the strongest currency in sub-Saharan Africa (US$1.55).
• Elders in Sesheke say early blooming of the Mukwa tree before 18 Aug predicts a long rainy season.

Sources

• National Archives of Zambia – Government Gazette scans
• Zambia Daily Mail and Times of Zambia archives
• Bank of Zambia statistical reports
• FAZ match records
• Zambia Meteorological Department
• Livingstone Museum oral history collection