The Rand Supreme Court sentences Jerry Richardson to death for the murder 14-year-old Stompie Seipei. Stompie Seipei was a child activist and member of the infamous Mandela Football Club established by Winnie Mandela as a front for the political mobilisation of township youths to stand against apartheid. Jerry Richardson abducted Seipei and three other boys near the Methodist Church (Manse), Soweto and took him to Winnie Mandela's home. Richardson alleged that Winnie Mandela initiated the torture of Seipei, who was sjamboked and bounced on the floor by Richardson. Seipei was allegedly tortured and killed for sexual misconduct with a Methodist reverend Paul Verryn who was accused by some of the boys for having homosexual practices with young boys. Winnie Mandela also accused Seipei for being a police informer, a charge that carried a death penalty in terms of township mob justice. Winnie Mandela denied any involvement in the death of Stompie Seipei and accused Richardson for lying. However, the judge implicated Winnie Mandela in Stompie Seipei's death by ruling that she was present when Stompie Seipei was tortured. The death of Seipei continued to haunt Winnie Mandela until some closure was reached when Winnie Mandela accepted, before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, some responsibility for the death of Seipei. Winnie Mandela had already apologised to Seipei's mother for the loss of her son, but maintained her innocence.

African National Congress's deputy president Nelson Mandela addressed a crowd of 300 000 in Port Elizabeth in what was described as South Africa's biggest ever political rally. Mandela announced to the crowd that he would be meeting President F.W. de Klerk in order to discuss the intensification of violence throughout the country, with specific reference to KwaZulu-Natal and the Rand where things were getting out of hand. On the very same day, Mandela flew to KwaZulu-Natal to see for himself what the violence had done to that region.

Negotiations between the National Sports Council (NSC) and the white South African Cricket Union (SACU) on the rebel cricket tour by Mike Gatting's England team, culminated in Dr Ali Bacher's statement on February 13, 1990. In the statement Bacher acknowledged that it was time to compromise and that the event had been overrun by the politics of the day. It also confirmed that the tour was divisive and had split the communities. He stated that SACU, which had organised the tour, had decided to shorten the tour 'to show its support for the dramatic political changes' announced by President De Klerk on 2 February 1990. An agreement between SACU and the NSC included reducing the number of games from seven to four and cancelling the second test match. It further entailed the cancellation of the second leg of the tour, which would have taken place early in the 1990-91 season. In return, NSC agreed not to hold protests at the remaining matches. Resistance against the tour was led by the National Sports Council (NSC), which was the sports wing of the United Democratic Front (UDF). The date of Bacher's announcement is given as 14 February in one source.

On this day in history, 4 of Winnie Mandela's (now Madikizela-Mandela) bodyguards, including Jerry Richardson and Jabu Sithole (coach of the Mandela United Football Club) were arrested at her home. The 4 were arrested in connection with the death of Stompie Mokhetsi Seipei, after rumors in mid-February that the Mandela United Football Club had brought the 4 youths to Winnie's home for interrogation. Jerry Richardson was later convicted of Stompie Seipei's murder and sentenced to death. The three surviving youths testified at Mr. Richardson's trial that Winnie helped beat them, despite her assertion that she was absent. In 1991, Winnie Mandela was convicted of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault, but her six-year jail sentence was reduced to a fine and a 2 year suspended sentence on appeal. Seipei's body, which according to the police had been stabbed through the neck and dumped at a waste site, was positively identified by his mother. At Seipei's funeral on 25 February 1989, at Tumahole Township in the Orange Free State, the Black community acknowledged his role in organising resistance among school students in 1985. As result of this, he had spent a year in detention at the age of 10, reportedly the country's youngest detainee.

Despite an increasing outcry against Salman Rushdie's public lecture from the Islamic Council of Southern Africa, the Weekly Mail (now Mail and Guardian) announces that the public lecture will go ahead. The Weekly Mail invited him to give a public lecture on censorship. Many Islamic governments and other governments such as India and South Africa censored his book Satanic Versus. Many Islamic groups, including South African Muslims, accused Rushdie for committing blasphemy against Islam. As a result, his invitation to South Africa by the Weekly Mail was considered to be insensitive to the feelings of Muslims in the country.

The one-year-old parliamentary opposition People Progressive Party (PPP) under the leadership of the former African National Congress (ANC) member Rocky Malebane-Metsing, was banned in Bophuthatswana by President Lucas Mangope. He announced his banning order immediately after the aborted coup attempt by the PPP. Mangope announced that in terms of the 1979 Internal Security Act the PPP was engaged in illegal activities that would endanger the public safety.

The African National Congress (ANC) in Harare, Zimbabwe, agreed to "use its good offices" to facilitate the readmission of South African rugby into international competition on condition that a non-racial controlling board was established. In 1964 South Africa was banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from participating in international games because of its apartheid policy. The agree in Harare followed a meeting between SA Rugby Board's president Danie Craven, ANC representatives and members of the SA Rugby Union was held in Zimbabwe. Seven years later, in 1995, South Africa hosted and won the Rugby World Cup. The event took place after the first South African non-racial polls of 1994.

The Ciskeian police disrupted a residents' meeting, which was held to inform those residents of Peelton unable to attend a previous meeting, of the incorporation of the whole of Peelton into the Ciskei on 12 August 1988. The people of West Peelton were against the incorporation as they were going to loose their South African citizenship and did not wish to fall under the jurisdiction of Ciskei. The western portion of Pealton had already been incorporated into the Ciskei in 1981 and according to the Borders of Particular States Extension Amendment Act the government wanted in 1988 to consolidate the two sections as part of the Ciskei. However, resistance by the residents forced the South African government to reverse its decision and offer the Peelton people land in South Africa. This was one of the great rural victories of the 1980s and it gave all other people living in Ciskei confidence that it was possible to take on the Ciskei regime, and win.

The Sowetan reported that the Soweto home of Winnie Mandela, wife of an imprisoned leader of the African National Congress (ANC), Nelson Mandela, was burned down allegedly by a group of schoolchildren. Among the explanations that emerged was one that the attack had been aimed not at the Mandela family but the football club closely associated with Winnie Mandela. Members of the club had allegedly attacked a Soweto schoolgirl. When told about the incident, Nelson Mandela did not make a statement but requested that there should be no charges laid and no prosecution. Source: South African Institute of Race Relations. (1989). Race Relations Survey 1988/89, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 605.

South Africa's longest and biggest strike was organised by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), led by Cyril Ramaphosa. At the time it was the second largest trade union in South Africa. NUM represented mainly Black mineworkers in the gold and coal mines belonging to the Chamber of Mines. Approximately 360 000 Black miners went on strike over wage and working conditions. It lasted for three weeks costing the Chamber of Mines close on R250 million. In an attempt to break the strike, the Chamber of Mines retrenched approximately 50 000 workers. The mineworkers' strike was violent, according to NUM; 11 people died, 500 were injured and over 400 workers were arrested. The mineworkers' strike finally came to an after an agreement was negotiated with the Chamber of Mines outlining new working conditions and wage increases for mineworkers. Click here to read our Labour history project