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.

The Sunday newspaper Sunday Independent reported that the special mixture prescribed by SA Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to fight HIV/AIDS, could be a recipe for disaster. The African potato, with a mixture of garlic, onions and virgin olive oil, was advocated by the minister as an immune-boosting combination for people living with HIV and Aids. The minister's prescription was widely disparaged in the medical and media fraternity alike. A new study published this month by Aids, one of the world's leading HIV journals, said that the African potato might significantly weaken the power of anti-HIV medicines (antiretroviral or ARVs) by altering their concentration in the bloodstream.

The South African squad of Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns, Darian Townsend and Ryk Neethling clocked 3 minutes and 13.17 seconds to triumph over the Netherlands (2nd) and the US team (3rd). The triumph was South Africa's fourth gold medal since re-admission to the Olympics in Barcelona 1992, adding to the two won by swimmer Penny Heyns in Atlanta and the marathon gold by Josia Thugwane at the same Olympics.

It was announced that at least one-fifth of South Africa's military was infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Therefore on 7 October 2003 the Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota stated that 'the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is no longer accepting HIV positive people into their ranks'. Below, an extract from article 'HIV/AIDS: Policies and programmes for blue helmets' by Roxanne Bazergan Back in 1999 the SANDF reportedly stopped donating blood because of the pandemic, and following an internal health review in July 1999, declared HIV/AIDS to be one of its most important strategic issues... ...The higher prevalence rates make HIV/AIDS an immediate and acute issue for the armed forces. The loss of personnel compromises combat readiness, particularly an army's ability to deploy at short notice, and upsets the continuity of command and the efficacy of detachments. Training new recruits also absorbs already scarce resources. According to Lindy Heinecken, Deputy Director of the Centre for Military Studies at the South African Military Academy, the SANDF's concern was largely sparked by the high HIV rates found in soldiers between the age of 23 and 29, as officers and non-commissioned officers in this age group normally fulfil critical skilled, operational and supervisory roles... ... In 2004 the SANDF allegedly had problems composing an initial detachment of 93 soldiers for the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The SANDF first tested a group of 400 potential peacekeepers. But 90% were found to be HIV-positive. A second group of 400 produced slightly better results when tested - only 87% were positive...

Six men accused of killing Mozambican investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso, were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. One of the suspects, Anibal dos Santos Junior, popularly known as Anibalzinho, who escaped from pre-trial detention, was tracked down in South Africa and extradited to Mozambique. Anibalzinho, who led the death squad, was tried in absentia while he was still on the run and received a twenty-eight years prison sentence. His co-accused were each sentenced to at least twenty-three years in jail. Cardoso was gunned down in a Maputo suburb while probing the disappearance of US$14 million in privatisation funds from the Commercial Bank of Mozambique.

The Africa Women's Peace Train was launched in Kampala, Uganda, on 15 August in a ceremony in which a Peace Torch was received. It was destined to run through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana and finally to South Africa - Johannesburg, in time for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) on 25 August 2002. The train, leaving Kampala on 16 August, was made up of women from across Africa who wanted to raise awareness around the impact of civil wars, corruption and genocide, which was taking place in countries across the continent. The women aimed to organise protest marches wherever there were major conferences in order to highlight the plight of many African countries. In Johannesburg, they were going to protest against world leaders attending the World Summit on Sustainable Development also involved in shady business deals, sponsoring guerrilla leaders, and arms trading in Africa. Women wanted to show world leaders that they want peace and stability for their children and future generations. They therefore called upon world leaders to take action against perpetrators of these horrendous deeds and to end them immediately.

The Protected Disclosures Act, no 26 of 2000, providing protection of employees against occupational detriment as a result of having disclosed irregular conduct in their workplace, came into action on this date.

President Thabo Mbeki unveiled the Women's Monument at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The aim of the monument was to commemorate the role of women in the struggle and marked the 44th anniversary of the march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings. The celebration and commemoration included the unveiling of the monument dedicated to the 1956 march and portraits of some of the women who led that march. The portraits included those of Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Raheema Moosa and Sophie De Bruin. Some of the survivors of the march were present to witness a symbolic victory of their struggle. Earlier on there was a march to the Union Buildings led by Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and the veterans of the 1956 march. The monument was executed jointly by sculptor Wilma Cruise and architect Marcus Holmes.