On this day, residents of Sharpeville and surrounding Vaal Triangle townships rose up against a R5.90 rent increase imposed by the Lekoa Town Council. The Black Local Authorities, established by the Apartheid government to administer townships, were widely rejected as illegitimate structures that extracted money from communities while offering no real political representation.

The uprising resulted in the deaths of several community councillors, including deputy mayor Kuzwayo Jacob Dlamini, who were seen by residents as collaborators with the Apartheid system. The resistance quickly spread across the Vaal townships, with residents targeting council buildings and other symbols of Apartheid administration.

The Vaal Uprising marked a turning point in the struggle against Apartheid, demonstrating the depth of popular rejection of the government's attempts to create compliant local structures. The state responded with force, but the resistance that began on this day continued and intensified, contributing to the sustained township uprisings that would eventually help bring the Apartheid system to its knees.

The World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention concluded in London with representatives from 140 national governments. The conference marked the first broad acknowledgement by national governments in an international setting that AIDS was a serious global health problem requiring coordinated action. The summit produced the London Declaration on AIDS Prevention, which called for a spirit of social tolerance and greater exchange of information on HIV/AIDS.

The idea for a World AIDS Day emerged from this meeting. The concept was developed by James Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers working with the World Health Organization's Global Programme on AIDS. Dr Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global Programme on AIDS, approved the proposal and agreed that the first observance should be held on 1 December 1988. The date was chosen strategically to maximise media coverage in Western countries - sufficiently after the US elections but before the Christmas holiday period.

The London Declaration was subsequently endorsed by the Forty-first World Health Assembly in Geneva in May 1988, and further supported by a United Nations General Assembly resolution on 27 October 1988. The first World AIDS Day was observed on 1 December 1988 under the theme "Join the Worldwide Effort."

Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor was born in Durban on 7 December 1953. Her father, Joe Matthews, was a prominent anti-apartheid activist and the son of academic Z.K. Matthews, whilst her mother, Regina Thelma, was a teacher. Following her family's exile in 1961 due to her father's involvement in ANC political activities, Pandor received most of her education abroad, completing her secondary schooling at Gaborone Secondary School in Botswana. She obtained a BA in History and English from the University of Botswana in 1977, later earning an MA from the University of London and an MA in Linguistics from Stellenbosch University in 1997. 

Pandor worked as a teacher in London and Botswana before joining the University of Cape Town as a senior lecturer in 1989. Following South Africa's first democratic election in 1994, she was elected to Parliament and rose through the ranks, becoming Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in 1998 and its first female Chairperson in 1999. 

Pandor served in numerous ministerial portfolios including Education (2004-2009), Science and Technology (2009-2012, 2014-2018), Home Affairs (2012-2014), Higher Education and Training (2018-2019), and International Relations and Cooperation (2019-2024). She was instrumental in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and was appointed Chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in October 2024.

On 4 March 1980, Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won Zimbabwe's first free elections, securing 57 of the 80 common roll seats in the new 100-seat House of Assembly with 63 per cent of the national vote. The elections, held on 14 February 1980 following the Lancaster House Agreement that ended the Rhodesian Bush War, marked a decisive moment in the country's transition from white minority rule to majority government. Joshua Nkomo's Patriotic Front-ZAPU won 20 seats, drawing support primarily from the Ndebele-speaking regions of Matabeleland, whilst Bishop Abel Muzorewa's United African National Council, which had led the previous internationally unrecognised Zimbabwe Rhodesia government, won just three seats. Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front won all 20 seats reserved for white voters on a separate roll. 

The British-appointed Governor, Lord Soames, immediately invited Mugabe to form a government. Mugabe, who had returned from exile to address a crowd of 200,000 supporters in January 1980, appealed for national unity and reconciliation upon his victory, pledging to protect private property and guarantee pensions for white civil servants. He formed a Government of National Unity that included members from ZAPU and other parties. Zimbabwe was formally granted independence on 18 April 1980, with Mugabe sworn in as the country's first Prime Minister.

 Glynn Griffiths was born on 20th March 1950 and grew up in the tough diamond mining town of Jagersfontein in the Free State in South Africa,though he was a British citizen by birth through his parents and grandparents. (His paternal grandfather travelled from the South Wales valleys to fight in the Boer War.) Glynn Griffiths was a photographer, cartoonist, artist, designer, sculptor, polymath.