On 14 may 1987, a Zimbabwean citizen, Tsitsi Chiliza, who was married to an ANC member was killed in a bomb hidden inside a TV set. It is believed that the bomb was meant for Jacob Zuma. Zimbabwe was an important area of operation for the ANC. This led to the apartheid government attacking ANC members living in Zimbabwe, regardless of whether they were South African or Zimbabwean. The bomb blasted the second floor of the building where Chiliza lived, but the other residents escaped injuries. Zimbabwe blamed South Africa for the attack but, predictably, South Africa denied they were behind it. The booby trapped TV was just one of many attacks aimed at ANC officials in Zimbabwe. In 1988, the ANC office in Zimbabwe was hit by a rocket. On another occasion a car bomb injured three ANC officials in Harare.
14 May 1987
A booby-trapped TV kills Tsitsi Chiliza, wife of an ANC official in Harare, Zimbabwe
- Updated
- 12 May 2020
How we know this
- 01Associated Press May, 12, 1987 Zimbabwe Blames Fatal Apartment Bombing on South Africa from AP News Archive [online] Available at: www.apnewsarchive.com [accessed on 16 April 2012]
- 02South African History Online Three Zimbabwean intelligence officers stand trial for a bomb attack on an ANC house [online] Available at: www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed on 16 April 2012]
Last updated · 12 May 2020
South African History Online. (2012, May 9). A booby-trapped TV kills Tsitsi Chiliza, wife of an ANC official in Harare, Zimbabwe. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0082947
South African History Online (2012) 'A booby-trapped TV kills Tsitsi Chiliza, wife of an ANC official in Harare, Zimbabwe', South African History Online, 9 May. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0082947 (Accessed: 11 November 2026).
South African History Online, A booby-trapped TV kills Tsitsi Chiliza, wife of an ANC official in Harare, Zimbabwe [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0082947, (accessed 11 November 2026).
"A booby-trapped TV kills Tsitsi Chiliza, wife of an ANC official in Harare, Zimbabwe." South African History Online, 9 May 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0082947. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.
South African History Online. "A booby-trapped TV kills Tsitsi Chiliza, wife of an ANC official in Harare, Zimbabwe." South African History Online. May 9, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0082947.
Also on 14 May
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- 1973Journalist Patrick Laurence is given suspended sentence
- 1992Turkish newspapers criticise of ANC leader Nelson Mandela for refusing to accept Turkey’s peace award
- 1997F.W. de Klerk apologizes for apartheid
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