# 2008 African Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres

The men's 400 metres event at the 2008 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Addis Ababa Stadium on April 30–May 2.

## Medalists

| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Nagmeldin Ali Abubakr Sudan | Isaac Makwala Botswana | James Godday Nigeria |

## Results
### Heats

Qualification: First 4 of each heat (Q) and the next 4 fastest (q) qualified for the semifinals.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Nagmeldin Ali Abubakr | Sudan | 46.54 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Isaac Makwala | Botswana | 47.00 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Eric Milazar | Mauritius | 47.02 | Q |
| 4 | 1 | James Godday | Nigeria | 47.03 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Mathieu Gnanligo | Benin | 47.10 | Q |
| 6 | 5 | Sibusiso Sishi | South Africa | 47.15 | Q |
| 7 | 5 | Sofiane Labidi | Tunisia | 47.31 | Q |
| 8 | 5 | Noah Akwu | Nigeria | 47.38 | Q |
| 9 | 1 | Thomas Musembi | Kenya | 47.44 | Q |
| 10 | 4 | Ofentse Mogawane | South Africa | 47.46 | Q |
| 11 | 1 | Pieter Smith | South Africa | 47.57 | Q |
| 12 | 2 | Nouha Badji | Senegal | 47.67 | Q |
| 13 | 5 | Ompehmetse Mokgadi | Botswana | 47.81 | Q |
| 14 | 3 | Mohamed Amin Guezmil | Tunisia | 47.81 | Q |
| 15 | 4 | Marouane Maadadi | Morocco | 47.86 | Q |
| 16 | 5 | Rabah Yousif | Sudan | 47.87 | q |
| 17 | 2 | Saul Weipogwa | Nigeria | 47.94 | Q |
| 18 | 1 | Awad El Karim Makki | Sudan | 48.55 | Q |
| 19 | 3 | Bereket Desta | Ethiopia | 48.64 | Q |
| 20 | 2 | George Kwmoba | Kenya | 48.71 | Q |
| 21 | 1 | Lukungu Waiswa | Uganda | 48.78 | q |
| 22 | 4 | Emmanuel Simpson | Ghana | 49.21 | q |
| 23 | 5 | Issah Awudu | Ghana | 49.24 | q |
| 24 | 3 | Mamadou Gueye | Senegal | 49.32 | Q |
| 25 | 2 | Zemenu Kassa | Ethiopia | 49.42 | |
| 26 | 1 | Fernando Augustin | Mauritius | 49.44 | |
| 27 | 4 | Anteneh Getachew | Ethiopia | 49.53 | |
| 28 | 2 | Jean François Degrace | Mauritius | 49.76 | |
| 29 | 4 | Houssein Nour Ali | Djibouti | 50.45 | NR |
| 30 | 2 | Abdalla Mohamed Hussein | Somalia | 51.97 | |
| 31 | 3 | Nathan Kpebah | Ghana | 52.49 | |
| 32 | 3 | Emmanuel Ntakiyimana | Rwanda | 52.92 | |
| 33 | 3 | Mahamat Kadre Moussa | Chad | 54.49 | |
| | 1 | Etienne Gashagaza | Rwanda | DNS | |
| | 3 | Gary Kikaya | Democratic Republic of the Congo | DNS | |

### Semifinals

Qualification: First 2 of each semifinal (Q) and the next 2 fastest (q) qualified for the final.
| Rank | Heat | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Mathieu Gnanligo | Benin | 45.88 | Q, NR |
| 2 | 1 | James Godday | Nigeria | 46.11 | Q |
| 3 | 2 | Sibusiso Sishi | South Africa | 46.21 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Isaac Makwala | Botswana | 46.28 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Nagmeldin Ali Abubakr | Sudan | 46.45 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | Eric Milazar | Mauritius | 46.48 | Q |
| 7 | 2 | Thomas Musembi | Kenya | 46.50 | q |
| 8 | 1 | Nouha Badji | Senegal | 46.58 | q, PB |
| 9 | 1 | Pieter Smith | South Africa | 46.64 | |
| 10 | 3 | Ofentse Mogawane | South Africa | 47.01 | |
| 11 | 1 | Mohamed Amin Guezmil | Tunisia | 47.17 | |
| 12 | 2 | Noah Akwu | Nigeria | 47.17 | |
| 13 | 1 | Rabah Yousif | Sudan | 47.22 | |
| 14 | 3 | George Kwmoba | Kenya | 47.44 | |
| 15 | 1 | Ompehmetse Mokgadi | Botswana | 47.53 | |
| 16 | 2 | Bereket Desta | Ethiopia | 47.56 | |
| 17 | 3 | Marouane Maadadi | Morocco | 48.05 | |
| 18 | 2 | Awad El Karim Makki | Sudan | 48.10 | |
| 19 | 2 | Mamadou Gueye | Senegal | 48.20 | |
| 20 | 1 | Lukungu Waiswa | Uganda | 48.63 | |
| 21 | 3 | Issah Awudu | Ghana | 49.20 | |
| 22 | 2 | Emmanuel Simpson | Ghana | 49.36 | |
| | 3 | Sofiane Labidi | Tunisia | DNF | |
| | 3 | Saul Weipogwa | Nigeria | DNS | |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time |
| | 3 | Nagmeldin Ali Abubakr | Sudan | 45.64 |
| | 8 | Isaac Makwala | Botswana | 45.64 |
| | 6 | James Godday | Nigeria | 45.77 |
| 4 | 5 | Sibusiso Sishi | South Africa | 45.84 |
| 5 | 7 | Eric Milazar | Mauritius | 45.96 |
| 6 | 2 | Thomas Musembi | Kenya | 46.11 |
| 7 | 4 | Mathieu Gnanligo | Benin | 46.19 |
| 8 | 1 | Nouha Badji | Senegal | 48.00 |