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EventLesotho’s Foreign Affairs Minister reveals details of agreement with Pik Botha
On 4 December 1981 Lesotho's Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Mooki Molapo, told The Star of an agreement reached with the South African Minister of Foreign…
EventCiskei is granted ‘independence’
Ciskei becomes the fourth Black homeland to be granted 'independence' by the South African Government. Chief Lennox Sebe is elected President by the National…
EventGriffiths Mxenge is buried
Griffiths Mlungisi Mxenge, civil rights lawyer and political activist murdered on 19 November, was buried at his home village of Rayi, near King William's Town…
EventMercenaries from South Africa led by Colonel “Mad Mike” Hoare, attempt an unsuccessful coup in Seychelles
The armed mercenaries entered the Seychelles disguised as a beer-drinking tourist party, "The Ancient Order of Froth-Blowers." Hoare's objective was to return…
EventGriffiths Mxenge is murdered
Griffiths Mxenge, an African National Congress (ANC) veteran and apartheid activist, was assassinated and his body was severely mutilated in an act of barbaric…
EventThree MK soldiers found guilty
EventVoortrekkerhoogte military base is attacked
EventAt a summit SA Trade Unions resolve to defy apartheid and labour laws
Location: back to this day in history search archive During the summit conference organised by non-racial labour unions at Langa, Cape Town, Trade Union…
EventFatima Meer is banned for a second time
Federation of South African Women (FSAW or FEDSAW) President and the first person to be banned under the 1976 Internal Security Act, Fatima Meer, was banned…
EventUmkhonto We Sizwe, military wing of the ANC, claims responsibility for power station blast
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), translated as "Spear of the Nation", was the active military wing of the African National Congress (ANC). It was formed in co-operation…
EventZwelakhe Sisulu is arrested
Zwelakhe Sisulu is arrested Zwelakhe Sisulu, President of the Black Media Workers Association of South Africa (MWASA), and youngest son of Albertina and Walter…
EventSix PAC members are sentenced for the killing of PAC leader David Sibeko
David Maphgumzana Sibeko began his political career as a journalist for the South African magazine Drum. Sibeko joined the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) during…
EventThe first recognised AIDS cases are reported in the USA
On 5 June 1981, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USA) reported that 5 gay men in California were suffering from a rare pneumonia (Pneumocystis…
EventSA rugby team plays and wins the first test match against Ireland
On 30 May 1981, South Africa played its first rugby test match against Ireland at Newlands stadium in Cape Town. This game was particularly significant, as…
EventThe Nationalist Party wins election with a reduced majority in the National Assembly
Assembly on 29 April 1981, voters returned the National Party (NP) to power, albeit with a reduced majority in the House of Assembly compared to previous…
EventThe S. A government seizes the passport of Bishop Desmond Tutu
Between 1976 and 1978 Desmond Tutu served as Bishop of the Anglican Church in Lesotho and as Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches. On 16…
EventPW Botha states that the Soviets will not prevent South Africa from attacking ANC bases in Mozambique
The regular cross border raids by South African troops, that violated the sovereignty of its neighbouring countries in order to prop up the Apartheid system,…
EventPrime Minister P.W. Botha announces Ciskei will become independent on 4 December 1981
The homeland known as Ciskei, between the Fish and the Kei River, was created between 1961 and 1982 by the then Nationalist Party Government.. This was done as…
EventMozambique stresses its continued support for the ANC
Mozambique stresses its continued support for the African National Congress (ANC), in a statement made at the funeral of twelve ANC members killed in the South…
EventSA cross-border raid in Maputo kills several
Several people were killed in Operation Beanbag, an attack by the South African army on the planning and control headquarters of the African National Congress …
EventAt least 100 people drown in a flood at Laingsburg
On 25 January 1981, Laingsburg in the Western Cape was devastated by a severe flood. The hard rains immersed the whole town in water, only the roofs of the…
EventPercy Qoboza, editor of the Post, states that it is difficult to see how a credible newspaper for Blacks can be created in South Africa
Percy Qoboza was a journalist and outspoken critic of the apartheid regime. He initially studied in the field of theology, but became involved in journalism…
EventJustice Coetzee refuses to lift banishment on four Black newspapers
In the Rand Supreme Court, Justice Coetzee, refused to lift the banning order on four Black newspapers, the Post Transvaal, Saturday Post, Sunday Post and the…
EventIconic musician, John Lennon, was shot dead outside his New York apartment
At approximately 11:00 PM, John Lennon was shot 4 times in the back as he entered his luxury apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Lennon's…
EventP.W. Botha proposes a 'Constellation of States'
During the National Party rally in Ladysmith, Natal, Prime Minister P.W. Botha assured his party supporters that the proposed constitutional reforms would not…
EventANC calls on International community to save lives
At the end of the Soekmekaar and Silverton trial in Pretoria, three young Black men, Noimbithi Johnson Lubisi 28, Petrus Tsepo Mashigo 20, and Naphtali Manani…
EventMedical Association agrees to investigate Biko’s death
After a two week judicial inquest under presiding magistrate Mr. Marthinus Prins, it was found that no particular person could be blamed for the death of Steve…
EventMinister announces compulsory education for Black children
The minister of (Black) education and training, Dr Ferdinand Hartzenberg, announced that compulsory education for Black children would be introduced in stages,…
EventDraft laws are gazetted
The draft laws were gazetted, providing some benefits for Black people. These include greatly increased mobility and security of tenure for Blacks qualified to…
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