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EventMandela meet De Klerk in Pretoria
African National Congress (ANC) Deputy President Nelson Mandela and State President F.W. de Klerk held discussions in Pretoria on the progress which has been…
EventP.W. Botha resigns from the National Party
Former leader of the National Party (NP) and head of state, P.W. Botha, resigned from the party in protest against President F.W. de Klerk's reform proposals…
EventFather Michael Lapsley, an Anglican priest, is injured by a letter-bomb
Father Michael Lapsley was born in New Zealand on 2 June 1949. He was trained as an Anglican priest in Australia, where he joined a religious community, The…
EventVlakplaas Commander testifies before Harms Commission about secret police killings in 1981
In 1981, Dirk Coetzee, Jan Viktor and Jac Buchner began Vlakplaas, a parliamentary hit squad, with 16 police officers. The existence of the unit was first…
EventNelson Mandela says “thank you” to the world
At the Mandela Day 2 concert at the Wembley Stadium in London, England, Nelson Mandela delivers a speech in which he thanks the world for their wide support…
EventNelson Mandela admits to the torture of dissident guerrillas
Nelson Mandela admits that members of the ANC had tortured dissident guerrillas, but says the officials involved have been punished and that any further…
EventA curfew is lifted in Venda
A curfew, which was imposed in the independent Venda homeland as a result of the deposition of the unpopular Frank Ravhele regime, was lifted after the…
EventReconciliation talks between F.W de Klerk and Nelson Mandela are rescheduled due to violence in Sebokeng
On 5 April 1990, at an informal meeting in Cape Town, President F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela agreed to reschedule formal talks between the Government and…
EventNelson Mandela is elected Deputy President of the ANC
In 1990, at the opening of parliament, former state president F.W De Klerk made an unanticipated and startling statement when he asserted that Nelson Mandela…
EventANC’s Nelson Mandela in a historic political rally
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…
EventNegotiations between Nelson Mandela and Mangosutho Buthelezi
30 March 1990 Negotiations between Nelson Mandela and Mangosutho Buthelezi 30 March 1990 Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress (ANC) and Mangosutho…
EventANC and IFP joint peace rally is called off
The African National Congress (ANC) called off a peace rally to be held with Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) scheduled for 2 April in KwaZulu-Natal. The local ANC…
EventEleven protesters are killed in Sebokeng
The police opened fire on a crowd of Sebokeng township residents who sought to march on the local offices of the ruling National Party (NP). The incident…
NP government abandons segregated education
EventThe seven day war in Kwazulu-Natal starts
The first of more than 100 people were killed near Pietermaritzburg. Political conflict in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa caused the death of 200…
EventNamibia gains Independence
Namibia or South West Africa, as it was called while it was a German territory was placed under the South African administration by the League of Nations after…
EventMandela and Tambo meet in Sweden
While on a mission to foreign countries to ask them to break political ties and tighten sanctions against South Africa in order to speed political change,…
EventNelson Mandela continues his international tour
The African National Congress (ANC) deputy president, Nelson Mandela, proceeded with his international tour to Sweden. His tour had hitherto included African…
EventANC denies responsibilities for the unrest in homelands
On this day in 1990, the African National Congress (ANC) veteran leader, Walter Sisulu, denied allegations levelled at his party by the South African…
EventViolence erupts in Bophuthatswana Townships and Kathlehong
Violence erupted when 50 000 (or 100 000 according to police) residents from GaRankuwa, Mabopane, Soshanguve and areas in the Odi district presented a petition…
EventSouth Africa sends troops to Ciskei
On 4 March 1990 Brigadier Oupa Gqozo of the Ciskei Defence Force (CDF), and a former member of the South African Defence Force (SADF), leads a coup in the…
EventHundreds of political prisoners began a hunger strike at Robben Island
The release of Nelson Mandela on 11 February 1990 was a catalyst that sped up the change in the political dispensation in South Africa. On 4 March 1990 343…
EventMandela visits Zambia
Nelson Mandela started a seventeen-day foreign visit on 27 February, his first since 1962. Subsequent to his release from prison on 11 February 1990, after 27…
EventMandela addresses ANC rally in Durban
In an effort to promote peace in Natal, the African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela made a trip to Durban to speak to ANC supporters. In a peace…
EventNelson Mandela was issued with his first passport after being released from prison
Nelson Mandela was issued with his first South African passport on 19 February 1990, 8 days after he was released from prison. It was this passport (with his…
EventFifty killed over three days during Inkatha
Fifty people were killed over three days in battles between Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and United Democratic Front (UDF) supporters in Natal, South Africa,…
EventMike Gatting’s rebel cricket tour is curtailed
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…
EventNelson Mandela is free
On this day, Nelson Mandela was released unconditionally from prison after 27 years. Accompanied by his then-wife Winnie, he left the Victor Verster prison …
EventF.W. de Klerk announces Nelson Mandela will be freed on 11 February
The announcement by President F. W. de Klerk in parliament on 10 February 1990, that Nelson Mandela would be released from prison, unconditionally the next day…
EventNamibia’s constitution is ratified
The acceptance of the Namibian constitution on 9 February 1990 established the Republic of Namibia. The independence of Namibia can be directly traced to an…