In an interview with the New Nation, Felix Ndimene alleged that the Selous Scouts of Pietersburg and Five Reconnaissance Regiment (5RR), part of the SA Special Forces, together with members of RENAMO, had been involved in train violence, particularly the Benrose massacre on 13 September 1990. He also named a Zimbabwean who had allegedly been involved in train attacks. Ndimene alleged that the intelligence division of Spoornet Security was composed of former members of the Special Forces, and that they orchestrated the violence on trains. The two Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supporters who applied for amnesty for their part in the train violence, both stated that they saw themselves as participating in a political conflict between the African National Congress (ANC) and IFP. Ndimene, a Mozambican who had served as a sergeant in 5RR, made a victim statement to the Commission in which he claimed he was abducted from Mozambique on 23 August 1982 and was later brought to the SADF's Phalaborwa base where he was tortured and forced to join the SADF. A special investigation unit of the Goldstone Commission could not substantiate Ndimene's allegations. It ultimately found that the commando named by Ndimene was at a legitimate clandestine internal (to the Eastern Transvaal) operation at the time of the Benrose massacre. It further found that most members who had allegedly been involved in the Jeppe attack were in the Phalaborwa camp at the time of the attack. However, a former senior Goldstone investigator told the Commission that he believed that this did not necessarily disprove Ndimene's allegations as Special Forces often operated in small groups of three to four men. The investigator believed it was possible that a small unit of 5RR could have been deployed covertly to conduct train operations. Further evidence to the Commission indicated that a senior commander in 5RR confirmed that members of the unit were involved in such violence. A former deputy chief of staff intelligence expressed the view that the randomness of the attacks combined with their military precision pointed to people with Special Forces training. Source: http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/index/menu.htm http://www.news24.com/Content_Display/TRC_Report/2chap7.htm

The African National Congress (ANC) activist, Mziwonke 'Pro' Jack was gunned down next to his home in Cape Town. Jack was a taxi conflict mediator in Cape Town when he was murdered. The escalating violence after the death of Jack developed a suspicion of police involvement and allegations that a third force was fanning the violence to destabilise the community.

At the height of township violence in Transvaal, President F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela held a series of meetings to discuss means of quelling the unrest. Following these deliberations the government announced 'Operation Iron Fist' to put down the fighting. These measures included a curfew; the cordoning off of hostels and squatter camps with razor wire; the use of aerial spray dyes; and, mounting light machine guns on armoured vehicles. Twenty-seven townships were placed under emergency rule. Though a call was made by a few Black groups to boycott the curfew, it proved effective when it returned uneasy calm to townships.A few days later, on 19 September, amid accusations that the security forces were contributing to the violence, De Klerk ordered the formation of "special investigative units" to examine allegations of police misconduct in the township violence.

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.