On 18 March 2017, legendary actor Joe Mafela passed away on his way home from Soweto, after he was involved in a car accident in Johannesburg. According to Edna Mamonyane, Metro police spokesperson, the accident occurred at around 10pm on the M1 North, a road between Oxford and Houghton Drive. Joe Mafela was born in  Sibasa, Limpopo in 1942. Mafela’ s acting career started in 1964, when he featured in a film  by Peter Hunt, ‘Real News’. His popularity increased after he starred in Zulu language sitcom, “Sgudi  ‘Snaysi”.In this film, he played the leading character, named ‘Sdumo’. Joe Mafela  worked as a producer in the South African film industry twenty years amongst other creative pursuits such as releasing his own album, “Shebeleza”. 

On 2nd April 2018, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, also known as the mother of the nation, passed away at the age of 81, at Milpark hospital in Johannesburg.  She passed away in the morning surrounded by her family and loved ones.  Winnie is widely-known for the significant role she  played in the history of South Africa, particularly in the struggle against apartheid. She is also known as the ex-wife of the former president, Nelson Mandela. Winnie grew an  interest in politics at a young age, due to her experience of the oppression of black people during the apartheid era. Her interest in politics  was influenced by her involvement  in research done in the Alexandra township, where she discovered that there were 10 deaths for every 1,000 births while  trying to establish the rate of infantile mortality.   Winnie spent his life trying to build a better South Africa. She will be remembered for her actions and the part she had played during the women’s struggle in South Africa, along  with others.  

Rugby player, Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle was born in Tzaneen on 11 September 1986. Ralepelle moved to Pretoria and attended Pretoria Boys High School, where he joined the rugby team. He was selected for the under- 15 squad in 2001 and the under-19 squad in 2004. Ralepelle made history in 2006 when he became the first Black rugby player to captain the Springboks. In 2010, his reputation was tainted when he was suspended following a drug test that proved positive. It was later discovered though that an energy drink contained a banned substance. Ralepelle was cleared. Currently, Ralepelle plays for the Sharks and has recently (April 2019) been tested positive by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport for the banned drug Zeranol. In public response to these results, he maintains that he did not take any drugs.  

Sharlto Copley was born in Pretoria on 27 November 1973. While still in high school, Copley began producing amateur theatre and film. He met his business partner Simon Hansen during his high school years at a Johannesburg private school. After completing high school, Copley and Hansen moved to Cape Town to start a production company. Their first production was Alive in Johannesburg, which was the basis for their 2009 sci-fi film, District 9. District 9, in which Copley also plays a lead role, earned itself an Oscar nomination and garnered Copley praise for his portrayal of the character Wikus. In 2010 he portrayed the character Murdoch in a film adaptation of the eighties series, the A Team.  

Business Day reports that minister of law and order, Adriaan Vlok, said that apartheid has become an albatross around the country's neck. 'If you ask a black South African what apartheid has done, he will say it has caused nothing but grief... If we do not get rid of it, it will crucify us all.'

Father Frans Claerhout, acclaimed South African painter of Belgian descent, dies in his sleep at a Bloemfontein hospital after being admitted with pneumonia two weeks prior. Claerhout (87) continued to paint daily during the last few years of his life at a home for retired Catholic priests.

Philip Rabinowitz, Polish born South African centenarian, sets a new world record by running the 100m in 28.7 seconds. Owing to a power failure the time is not electronically recorded and it is not acknowledged as a world record.

John Muafangejo was born in Etunda lo Ghandi in the area of Ovamboland, in Southern Angola. He studied art at the College of Art in Rorke’s Drift from 1967 to 1969. After completing his studies he began teaching at the Lutheran Centre for Arts and Crafts in Odibo, Ovamboland. By the age of 25 Muafangejo was represented by works in the exhibition “Contemporary African Art” in the Camden Arts Centre in London. As an artist he was more recognised for his graphics than his paintings. His motifs were drawn from his everyday life, history, his surroundings and politics. Muafangejo died of a heart attack in 1987, leaving behind an astounding 5000 linoleum cuts and just over a dozen paintings.

South Africa enjoyed a clean sweep of the International Rugby Board (IRB) awards in 2004. The awards were held on 29 November 2004 in London's Royal Lancaster Hotel. South African flanker, Schalk Burger, was named IRB 'Player of the Year', South African coach Jake White was named 'Coach of the Year' and South Africa won 'Team of the year' after their Tri Nations success. The IRB was founded in 1886, with its headquarters in Dublin. The organization is the international governing and law making body for the Rugby Union.

Former Zimbabwean president and minister of the Methodist church, Canaan Banana, was found guilty by the Harare High Court on eleven charges of sodomy, attempted sodomy and indecent assault. Banana was not present when the guilty verdict was given as he had fled a week earlier to Botswana. Judge Godfrey Chidyausiku immediately issued a warrant for Banana's arrest. His bail was also revoked and the title deed to his Harare mansion was impounded. The Botswana Police promised to launch a manhunt to find and extradite the former president, but his whereabouts remained unclear. Those close to him could or would not help the police. If he returned to Zimbabwe he would face twenty-five years' imprisonment. His victims included members of the football team he coached at the University of Zimbabwe, a chef, a gardener and a bodyguard.