Zimbabwe announces it has severed diplomatic relations with South Africa, but will maintain a trade mission in Johannesburg.

Zimbabwe announced it had severed diplomatic relations with South Africa, but would maintain a trade mission in Johannesburg. The ending of diplomatic relations between the two southern African countries happened just five months after Rhodesia gained independence after ninety years as a British colony, renaming itself Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe, head of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), became the first Prime Minister.