30 July 1987
On 30 July 1987, a car bomb was detonated outside the headquarters of Witwatersrand Command army base in Quartz Street, Johannesburg. The attack was executed by Heinrich Grosskopf, under the instructions of the African National Congress (ANC).
Grosskopf had joined the ANC in Swaziland in January 1986, and the attack on the army headquarters was in response to the apartheid government deploying troops in the townships to stifle resistance. On 30 July, a car with explosives in it blew up in front of the Witwatersrand Command army base, shattering all the windows in the vicinity and damaging buildings.
The bomb was set to go off at a time when most children would be at school and people at work. It was set up to deliberately target those guarding and staffing the military buildings. The eventual costs of the attack is disputed, as some sources claim 30 injured with no fatalities and others claim 68 injured and 1 fatality.
Related:
Umkhonto we Sizwe: A timeline
References:
Grosskopf recounts 1987 Wits command bombing [online] Available at: www.iol.co.za [Accessed 23 July 2010]
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Amnesty Application AC/2001/003 [online] Available at: www.justice.gov.za [Accessed 23 July 2010]
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Amnesty Application of Heinrich Johannes Grosskopf AC/2000/248(Online), available at: www.justice.gov.za [Accessed 23 July 2010]