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EventCOSAS President is detained
The Security Police detained the president and six executive members of the recently formed Congress of South African Students (COSAS ), which had become one…
EventThe Prime Minister announces the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry into the reporting of defence matters, to be headed by Justice M.T. Steyn
More recent initiatives by the post 1994 SA government to establish a media tribunal have been condemned as an attempt to introduce 'apartheid style draconian…
EventRSA golf team is expelled from Greece
The Greek Government expelled the two-man South Africa team of Dale Hayes and Hugh Baiocchi from the World Cup international men's team golf championship…
EventAZAPO is re-launched in Roodepoort
The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) was re-launched in Roodepoort for the second time. After the outbreak of the Student Uprising in 1976, the government…
EventWorldwide speculation begins that a bright flash detected over the southern Indian Ocean was a South African nuclear test
In the early hours of 22 September 1979, an American Vela satellite recorded a double flash of light over the southern Indian Ocean, near South Africa's Prince…
EventThe SA government grants ‘Independent’ status to Venda
Following South Africa's policies of racial segregation and the promulgation of the Promotion Bantu Self-Government Act,46 of 1959, the South African…
Van Zyl Slabbert is elected as the leader of the PFP
EventPrime Minister Botha visits Soweto
Premier P.W. Botha became the first South African prime minister to visit Soweto. His visit included talks with the Soweto Community Council during which he…
EventDr. Connie Mulder is acquitted and discharged on charges of contempt
Dr Connie Mulder was an Afrikaans professor who became a politician. In 1958, he became a member of the National Party (NP) and was the mayor of Randfontein…
EventThe apartheid government reportedly pays compensation for death of Steve Biko
Steve Biko was born in King Williams Town and began his political career as the co-founder of the all-black South African Student's Organization (SASO). It was…
EventDr. Rhoodie is arrested
Dr Eschel Rhoodie, former South African secretary of information, was initially tracked down by a journalist at Ecuador. Rhoodie had fled South Africa shortly…
EventMarais Viljoen is inaugurated as state president
Former minister of labour and a moderate member of the National Party, Marais Viljoen, was inaugurated as South Africa's fifth state president after he had…
EventPAC leader, David Sibeko shot dead in Dar
EventNP wins by election
In the by-election at Randfontein, formerly Dr. Connie Mulder's seat, the National Party (NP) candidate wins, but with a much reduced majority over the…
EventPresident John Vorster resigns
On retiring as prime minister after twelve years in office, B.J. Voster was elected to the unprecedented honorary position of State President. However, his…
EventThe Prince Imperial of France dies in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879
The 22-year-old Prince Imperial of France, Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Napoleon, who studied in England at the Royal Military Academy and joined the British…
EventThe recommendations of the Riekert Commission (to investigate the employment conditions of Black workers) are tabled
The Riekert Commission was established in response to a crisis faced by the apartheid state, as South African capitalism has been facing its deepest recession…
EventWiehahn Commission Report tabled in parliament
On 1 May 1979, the first interim report of the Wiehahn Commission is tabled in Parliament. The Wiehahn Commission was set up by the government after the Durban…
EventThe Federation of South African trade unions
The aim of The Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU) was to be a national umbrella organisation that could coordinate the movements of Black trade…
EventThe IPI appoints Joel Mervis
The International Press Institute (IPI) appointed an official observer in South Africa, Joel Mervis, to report on matters affecting the conduct and freedom of…
EventIdi Amin is deposed as the President of Uganda
Idi Dada Amin ruled Uganda from 1971 until 1979 after he unconstitutionally seized power from president Obote Milton. However, in 1979 he suffers the same fate…
EventMK hero cadre Solomon Kalushi (Khala) Mahlangu is executed
Solomon Kalushi (Khala) Mahlangu was executed by the Apartheid regime for being part of an abortive attempt by African National Congress (ANC) members to…
EventIdi Amin, Ugandan dictator, flees after a seven year reign
Idi Amin Dada Oumee fled Uganda on 29 March 1979* first to Libya and eventually to Saudi Arabia. Amin began his career as a cook in the King's African Rifles…
EventCamp David peace treaty is signed, ending 30 years of war between Egypt and Israel
On 26 March 1979, the Camp David peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The treaty was brokered…
EventPresident Vorster challenges Dr Rhoodie
In a lengthy statement, President B.J. Vorster challenged Dr. Eschel Rhoodie to release any document that would implicate him in the Information Affair. He…
EventGovernment admits responsibility for Mdluli’s death
The South African government admitted responsibility for the death of the African National Congress (ANC) member, Joseph Mdluli (50), on 19 March 1976 and…
EventThe Bethal Treason Trial resumes
The trial of eighteen suspected Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) members, which began in December 1977 and had already taken over 100 court sessions, resumed in…
EventState Security Council Approves Cross
The State Security Council (SSC) approves guidelines for the conducting of military operations against liberation movements in foreign countries. The…
EventP.W. Botha offers to resign
Prime Minister P.W. Botha offered to resign amid speculation regarding his involvement in the Information Scandal of 1978, if his accusers could prove that…
EventPFP stays its ground concerning president Vorster
Progressive Federal Party (PFP), official opposition in parliament, refused to congratulate John Vorster on his appointment as State President on the grounds…