December 22, 1989: Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu, the last of the Warsaw Pact’s hard-line communist leaders is dramatically toppled but armed loyalists opened a fierce attack in the Romanian capital after nightfall. Hours after hundreds of thousands of anti-Ceausescu demonstrators had rejoiced in the streets of Bucharest. The Hungarian news agency MTT said machine gun fire was heard on the Palace Square in downtown Bucharest and Belgrade Radio reported hundreds were killed. After 24 years of repressive rule he was toppled in a popular revolt that lasted less than a week but claimed the lives of thousands of anti-Government demonstrators.Here Jeremiah Nyagah seen with Mrs. Elena Ceausescu and her husband, Romanian president Nicolae Ceasescu (left) during a visit to Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi in September 1988.

Photo|Nation Syndication