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Sithembele Zokwe is assassinated
EventApartheid bomb kills Zimbabwean and injures six ANC members
On 10 January 1988, Mr Obed Amon Mwanza, a Zimbabwean, was killed and six African National Congress (ANC) members were injured when the truck in which Mwanza…
EventBotshabelo forced into Qwa Qwa
Despite visible resistance to incorporation into the Qwa Qwa homeland, the South African government proceeded with its plan of incorporation. The incorporation…
EventJulius Nyerere chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) addresses the ANC in Arusha
Julius Nyerere president of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), a party that succeeded the TANU, addressed delegates attending the African National Congress (ANC)…
EventSAA Helderberg 747 crashes
The South African Airways Helderberg 747 jet aircraft crashed into the Indian Ocean near Mauritius, killing all 159 people on board. A fire, which started from…
EventANC stalwart and Rivonia Trialist, Govan Mbeki, is released from Robben Island Prison
On 5 November 1987, Govan Mbeki, member of African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) High Command, was released…
EventChris Hani succeeds Joe Slovo as Chief of MK
Chris Hani, freedom fighter, political activist and at the time Deputy Commander of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) in Zambia, was appointed as new chief-of-staff of MK…
EventIFP declares attacks on UDF as self-defence
Mr Velaphi Ndlovu, an IFP parliamentarian in the Kwazulu homeland claims that attacks by Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) men on United Democratic Front UDF (UDF)…
EventIt is widely reported that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher criticised the ANC, calling it a terrorist organisation
The quote comes from a press conference held by the British Prime Minister at the Vancouver Commonwealth summit on October 17th. For years thereafter comments…
EventSA is blamed for Harare bombing
South Africa is blamed for a massive bomb blast in Harare, Zimbabwe in which several people are injured. Unlike other Southern African Development Community …
EventWynand Malan leads the newly formed National Democratic Movement
Former National Party (NP) member of parliament, Wynand Malan, lead the newly formed Afrikaans dominated political party, the National Democratic Movement (NDM…
EventDr Cedric Phatudi, Lebowa Chief Minister, dies
Cedric Namedi Phatudi was born in ga-Mphahlele in 1912. Phatudi worked as an educator and educational administrator. He served as the president of the…
EventTranskei Defense Force topples Transkei Bantustan leader George Matanzima, but denies coup
George Matanzima, brother of Kaiser Matanzima and leader of the Transkei Bantustan, was toppled by his military and forced to flee from the Transkei after a…
EventThe Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) is launched
The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) is launched to articulate the interests of Traditional Leaders and act as an extra…
Religious leaders hold talks with the ANC
EventRSA introduces more press restriction
Faced with increasing resistance and an increasingly ungovernable country, the government introduced wider press restrictions under the 1986 state of emergency…
Student Activist Caiphus Nyoka is killed
EventThe National Union of Mineworkers start South Africa’s longest wage strike
South Africa's longest and biggest strike was organised by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), led by Cyril Ramaphosa. At the time it was the second…
EventAn ANC car bomb directed at the headquarters of the Wits Command, Johannesburg, kills one person and injures 68
On 30 July 1987, a car bomb was detonated outside the headquarters of Witwatersrand Command army base in Quartz Street, Johannesburg. The attack was executed…
EventEric Mntonga is found dead
The body of Eric Mntonga, co-director of the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa (IDASA) in the border region, was found on a dirt road…
EventPolice detain Valli Moosa and Murphy Morobe in Port Elizabeth
Police arrested United Democratic Front national secretary-general Mohammed Valli Moosa and its acting publicity secretary Murphy Morobe in a pre-dawn raid on…
Van Zyl Slabbert concludes meeting with ANC
EventMozambique and Soviet Union reject Margo Commission’s finding
Mozambique and the Soviet Union rejected the findings of the Margo Commission, led by Justice Cecil Margo. The commission was instituted to investigate into…
EventDr. Federik Van Zyl Slabbert leads delegation to meet ANC
On 6 July 1987, Dr. Federik van Zyl Slabbert led a group of fifty-two mainly Afrikaans-speaking intellectuals, to meet with the then-banned African National…
EventJohannesburg Magistrate court is bombed
Two bombs exploded at the Johannesburg magistrate's court. The first, a minor explosion that acted as a decoy, was followed by a second more powerful charge…
EventCOSATU headquarters Johannesburg is sabotaged
Since its formation in 1985, Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) was viewed as a threat by the government. COSATU officials and members were…
EventBarclays Bank changes its name to First National Bank
After protests against Barclays Bank's involvement in South Africa and its apartheid government, Barclays Bank (SA) announced its new name - First National…
Three people are killed in a bomb blast
EventLadysmith Black Mambazo win a Grammy
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, with lead vocalist Joseph Tshabalala, became the first South African group to win a Grammy award. The group won the award for the best…
EventNelson Makhuba murders his family and commits suicide.
SA artist Nelson Makhuba, who produced wooden household utensils and tourist trade objects and was also a band leader, committed suicide. Upon his return from…