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EventNamibians vote for a Constituent Assembly
Location: back to this day in history search archive Voters went to the polls (7-11 November) to vote for a Constituent Assembly in the first all-race and…
EventWalter Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba and Ahmed Kathrada address the public after 26 years
After the release of Walter Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba of the African National Congress (ANC) and Ahmed Kathrada of the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC) on 15…
EventTranskei announces plans to unban ANC and PAC
During the celebration day of independence not recognised by the international community, the President of the Transkei homeland, Tutor Ndamase, announced that…
EventElephant poaching reaches an all time high
While African elephants have been hunted for several centuries, the exploitation of elephant herds on a massive scale began in the 1970s. Organized gangs of…
EventFive ANC leaders are released from prison
On 15 October 1989, five of the eight African National Congress (ANC) long term political prisoners were released from Robben Island. Among those leaders who…
EventF.W. de Klerk announces the release of political prisoners
Shortly after taking over from P.W. Botha as state president, F.W. de Klerk announced the unconditional release of eight long serving political prisoners of…
EventEfforts by a pro-sanctions lobbyist group against SA debt rescheduling prove unsuccessful
Efforts by a pro-sanctions lobbyist group in Southern Africa to persuade banks in the United States (US) not to allow debt rescheduling against South Africa…
EventUS opposes new sanctions against SA, believing they will be counterproductive to the transformation and negotiation process
In his address to the senate foreign relations committee, United States (US) Assistant Secretary of State, Herman Cohen, said that the US strongly opposed any…
President F.W. de Klerk denies talks between the ANC leaders and an Afrikaner delegation
EventAs part of a defiance campaign against the apartheid Government, SA is hit by a nationwide wave of protests
On 6 September 1989, the majority of South Africans witnessed the election of a national government in which it had no say; this was to be the last all-white…
EventF.W. De Klerk is inaugurated
After the September general election, F.W. De Klerk was inaugurated as the new State President at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. De Klerk had been Acting…
EventAdvocate Anton Lubowski secretary-general of the SWAPO is assassinated
Advocate Anton Lubowski (37), secretary-general of the South West African People's Organisation (Swapo), was shot dead at close range with an AK47 rifle…
Biko day is almost unheeded by workers
National Party wins election
”Day of Rage”
EventMass Democratic Movement (MDM) begins their Defiance Campaign
The United Democratic Front (UDF) was a non-racial coalition group that was initially formed in protest to the Tricameral Parliament. It was one of the most…
EventBlast opposite the Athlone Magistrate’s Court and police complex kills two people
On 23 July 1989, a blast occurred opposite the Athlone Magistrate's Court and police complex, which took the lives of two African National Congress (ANC)…
EventCOSATU intensifies campaign against apartheid
South Africa's largest labour federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), held its third annual congress from 12-16 July 1989. The…
EventMinister Kobie Coetsee on meeting between Botha and Mandela
Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee denied that Prime Minister P. W. Botha and Nelson Mandela had discussed policy matters or engaged in negotiations on 5 July, but…
EventNelson Mandela meets President P.W. Botha to begin negotiating the end of apartheid
On 5 July 1989, African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela met with President P.W. Botha at Tuynhuis. At the time, Mandela was still imprisoned at Victor…
EventNational Party adopts five year programme
With the winds of change blowing in South Africa, the ruling National Party (NP) adopted a five year programme of its objectives which included a political …
EventUpington 14 are sentenced
Justice J. Basson handed down death sentences on fourteen Blacks (Upington 14) for the murder of Lucas Tshenolo Sethwala, a Black police constable who fired at…
EventMayor of Welkom, in the Free State, is tarred and feathered
Race relations during the decline of the Apartheid regime were particularly problematic as many Whites felt threatened by the eventuality of a regime change…
EventAnti-apartheid activist Dr. David Webster is assassinated
David Webster, a social anthropologist at the University of the Witwatersrand and an anti-apartheid activist is shot dead by apartheid security forces. Ferdi…
EventFirst World Haemophilia Day
World Haemophilia Day was first celebrated in 1989 to increase awareness of haemophilia and to bring the needs of those affected by the disorder to the…
EventChris Ntuli is stabbed to death
United Democratic Front (UDF) activist and former detainee, Chris Ntuli, was stabbed to death in Kwa Mashu, Durban. The incident, believed to be a political…
EventThe Democratic Party, now the Democratic Alliance, is formed
On 8 April 1989, the Progressive Federal Party, Independent Party, the National Democratic Movement and the Fourth Force of 'Ontevrede Afrikaners' …
EventWinnie Madikizela-Mandela’s bodyguards arrested in connection with the death of Stompie Seipei
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…
EventUDF Disowns Winnie Mandela
The UDF publicly disowns Winnie Mandela over a series of allegations that finally estranged her from her husband Nelson Mandela. Key among some of these…