Richard John Maponya was born in Lenyenye in the Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo Province). The founder and first president of the National Federated Chamber of Commerce (NAFCOC), Maponya is also a trustee of the Urban Foundation and the SA Foundation. Maponya studied teaching, but worked as an administration clerk instead after he qualified. He ventured into business, first by opening small grocery shops in Soweto with his wife. He then went on to bigger ventures such as setting up a funeral parlour, bus services, motor dealerships, a BMW franchise and petrol stations. His biggest project to date is the joint venture with property group Zenprop in the construction of a shopping mall in Soweto, the Maponya Mall. It is one of the biggest in South Africa and was opened in September 2007.

The remains of Avhatakali Netshusaulu, accountant and son of the former City Press editor Mathata Tsedu, were found in the boot of his car after he had been burnt alive in a bush in Honeydew. An expert testified in court that the deceased had high levels of carbon monoxide in his blood which proves that he had been alive when he was burnt. It later came to light that Netshisaulu's widow Mulalo Sivhidzo had hired two men, Ntambudzeni Matzhenene and Arnold Sello, to kidnap and murder her husband. In a trial that lasted two years, Sivhidzo and her two co-accused were found guilty of kidnapping, robbery and murder. It was revealed in court that the killers had followed Netshisaulu, forced him off the road, attacked and bundled him in the boot of his car and setting him alight. It was suspected that her motive might have been financial gain and her alleged mental disorders were thought to have played a role as well.

The Groote Kerk is the oldest Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. It is located at Church Square in Adderly Street, Cape Town. Its architecture boasts a peculiar combination of Greek and Gothic styles. The building was designed by Hermann Schutte and was inaugurated on 31 January 1841. It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 28 September 1962. Beside the church’s great architecture, the other attraction that it possesses is its pulpit. Sculptor Anton Areith made the extraordinary pulpit, which rests on a pedestal of lions and adds to the great architectural features of the building. The pulpit was officially inaugurated in 1789.

On 27 October 1917, Oliver Tambo, who would become African National Congress (ANC) President, was born at Bizana, Transkei (now known as Eastern Cape). During the 1940s, he enrolled at the University of Fort Hare where he became active in politics. Tambo was among those who led the student boycott at Fort Hare, calling for the formation of a democratically elected Student's Representative Council (SRC). Subsequently, he was deregistered from the institution and could not complete his Bachelor of Science honours degree. The son of Nzimeni and Julia, Tambo dedicated his entire life to the ANC and the struggle for liberation. It was Tambo who played a tremendous role in shaping Thabo Mbeki's political career and played a fatherly role in exile. During the formation of the ANC Youth League in 1944, Tambo became the first Secretary General. He became the acting President of the ANC after the death of ANC president Chief Albert Luthuli in 1967 and was elected President in 1969 after the Morogoro Conference. In the early hours of 23 April 1993, Tambo suffered a massive and fatal stroke. He was honoured with a state funeral.

On 29 June 1961, during its plenary conference in Geneva, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted a resolution condemning the racial policies of the South African government and calling for South Africa's withdrawal from the ILO, by 163 votes to nil, with 29 abstentions. The ILO is the international organization responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labour standards. It is the only 'tripartite' United Nations agency that brings together representatives of governments, employers and workers to jointly shape policies and programmes promoting Decent Work for all. References: Anon, (n.d.), 'About the ILO,'from International Labour Organisation, [online] Available at www.ilo.org, [Accessed 26 May 2011]

On 3 June 1954, a mining engineer at the Erfdeel farm in the Orange Free State pulled up a drill-core laden with ore from nearly 6,000-feet. The Essayists revealed that, based on the test, the gold ore under Erfdeel farm might be worth as much as $18,000 a ton. The discovery was declared the richest strike in South Africa's history. According to reports, no shares soared as rapidly as those of Free State Gold Areas, Ltd., the company which owned options on the 4,200-acre Erfdeel farm. A couple of days following the Erfdeel test, the South African Press Association (SAPA) flashed more exhilarating news. A test bore on another farm located close to Erfdeel had reportedly proved even richer. Within an hour the SAPA revealed, via a bulletin, that the news was not true. Subsequent to that, government police started an investigation of the report and moved in on Promoter Milne's fabulous borehole. Under their supreme watch, Milne drilled another "deflection" test, a boring near the bottom of the shaft, within a few inches of where the first magnificent strike had been made. The test ore was turned over to the government's assayers. Their report claimed that the ore indicated a yield of 2 oz. of gold per ton of ore.

Athletics South Africa (ASA) announced that South Africa's former Olympic 800m silver medallist Hezekiel Sepeng was banned on 11 May 2005 from all competition for two years, following a drug test on 21 February of that year. According to ASA the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) has ruled that there were no exceptional circumstances in Sepeng's case and that he has to be suspended in accordance with the rules. Sepeng has accepted his two-year suspension, though he still maintained that he was not guilty, saying a lot of things went wrong on World Anti-Doping Agency's (Wada's) side. Sepeng was reinstated on 15 May 2007 for all athletics competitions with immediate effect.

On 21 January 2006, approximately ten thousand residents of Pretoria attended Tshwane Metro's 5th anniversary celebrations. Held in Church Square in Pretoria's city centre, the celebrations began with marches through the streets. Later, several prominent Afro music groups and performers entertained residents in the square. The incident was marred by some unruly behaviour from the crowd, and people criticised the celebrations saying they were not justified, as the municipality was failing to deliver services.

South African President Thabo Mbeki hails Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for making history by becoming Africa's first elected woman president in post-war elections. Mbeki said Sirleaf's election signalled a "new dawn for African women". Sirleaf, a 67-year old Harvard-educated technocrat, defeated football legend George Weah who secured only 40,6% of the votes. Though international observers declared the elections free and fair, minor irregularities were reported. Sirleaf is faced with the daunting task of reviving Liberian economy, which has been brought to its knees by fourteen years of civil war.

Obote, a member of the legislative council of Uganda from 1957, founded the Uganda People's Congress in 1960. Obote became Uganda's Prime Minister after independence was gained from the British in 1962 and by 1966 he had installed himself as president. He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971 and fled to Tanzania. He returned with the Tanzanian-aided invasion of 1979 and was re-elected in 1980 amid accusations of fraud. Factionalism led to an army coup in 1985 in which he was ousted a second time and exiled to Zambia. Obote's rule was marred by repression and the torture of political opponents. He was granted political asylum in Zambia following the coup. 10 years later Obote was rushed from Zambia to a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he died of kidney failure on 10 October 2005. He was 81 when he died.