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EventApartheid leader P. W. Botha Resigns
P. W. Botha suffers a mild stroke and, on this day he announces his intention to resign the National Party presidency while remaining State President. His…
EventFactions splits from The Afrikaaner Weerstandbeweging
A group of dissatisfied members of the far-right Afrikaaner Weerstandbeweging (AWB) (translated roughly as The Afrikaaner Resistance Movement) break away and…
Political activist Patrick Dakuse is shot
EventChris Heunis is appointed acting president
Chris Heunis, Minister of Constitutional Development and Planning, was appointed Acting State President by President P.W. Botha who was recovering from a mild…
EventPresident P.W. Botha suffers a stroke.
On 18 January 1989, P W Botha suffered a mild stroke at the age of 73. He was scheduled to meet with Namibian political leaders on 20 January 1989, but could…
EventSouth Africa, Cuba and Angola Sign formal peace agreement, allowing Namibian independence from South Africa
The agreement was the culmination of months of intense diplomatic efforts brokered by the United States. South African President P.W. Botha proclaimed, "A new…
EventP.W. Botha petitioned to open all sports venues
The Sowetan reported that a petition calling for all sports venues to be opened to all races was handed to the state president, P.W. Botha. The petition,…
EventAmichand Rajbansi is fired from Parliament
South African President P.W. Botha fires the government's only Indian Cabinet Minister, Amichand Rajbansi, with effect from 1 January 1989. He also removes him…
The Trust Feed Massacre
An incident occurred in December 1988 which shocked the nation and forever changed the lives of the close-knit community of Trust Feeds, a rural village near…
EventMandela is moved to Victor Verster prison
The government moved African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela from the Constantiaberg private clinic in Cape Town, where he had been recovering…
Johnstone Mfanafuthi Makhathini, ANC’s head of the Department of International Affairs, dies in exile in Zambia
EventWorld Aids Day is internationally observed for the first time
Following the January 1988 meeting of Health Ministers in London, a decision was taken that 1 December would annually be observed as World Aids Day. This step…
EventA consumer boycott is called in Boksburg
The town councils of Vosloorus and Reiger Park staged a consumer boycott in Boksburg on the East Rand (now Ekurhuleni municipality, Gauteng). The boycott, by…
EventRajbansi threatens not to co-operate with the James Commission
EventLiberation struggle activists, Gwala and Mothopeng are released from Robben Island
Two members of the banned liberation movements, Harry Gwala, a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and Zephania Mothopeng a member of the Pan…
EventP. W. Botha grants reprieve to the “Sharpeville Six”
South African President P. W. Botha granted a reprieve to the "Sharpeville Six" (Reginald Sefatsa, Reid Mokoena, Moses Diniso, Theresa Ramashamole, Duma…
EventUN passes resolutions on South Africa
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed resolutions condemning South Africa's relations with its Southern African neighbours. The UN General Assembly…
EventThree Zimbabwean intelligence officers stand trial for a bomb attack on an ANC house
Kevin Woods, Michael Smith and Philip Conjwayo were arrested in Zimbabwe in connection with the bombing that killed the driver of the car transporting the bomb…
EventThe Big Three are convicted of treason
Popo Molefe, Patrick Lekota and Moses (Moss) Chikane, collectively known as the "Big Three", were arrested in April 1989 and charged with treason. At the time…
EventSADF responds to allegations by FAPLA
Following a press conference of General Staff Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio dos Santos Franca Ndalu, Chief of ForÁƒÂƒÂ§as Armadas Populares de LibertaÁƒÂƒÂ§ÁƒÂƒ£o…
EventMother Teresa arrives in SA to establish a missionary home for HIV/AIDS sufferers
Mother Teresa was born in Albania and at a young age felt compelled to care for the sick and poor. When she was eighteen years old, she left home and joined…
EventSalman Rushdie’s visit is still on
Despite an increasing outcry against Salman Rushdie's public lecture from the Islamic Council of Southern Africa, the Weekly Mail (now Mail and Guardian)…
EventBlacks boycott municipal elections
All-race municipal elections were held on this date to elect segregated local authorities. For the first time elections for all areas, except homelands, were…
EventLocal elections in Townships
Following government's introduction of Black Township Councils in the late 1980s, which attempted to co-opt Black leaders into the Apartheid system without…
SOSCO and Azanian Co-ordinating Committee are restrticted by Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok.
EventThe People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is banned
The one-year-old parliamentary opposition People Progressive Party (PPP) under the leadership of the former African National Congress (ANC) member Rocky…
EventANC agrees to facilitate SA rugby’s return to international games
The African National Congress (ANC) in Harare, Zimbabwe, agreed to "use its good offices" to facilitate the readmission of South African rugby into…
EventCOSATU conference prohibited and organisers restricted
The government prohibited an anti-apartheid conference organised by COSATU in Cape Town, which aimed to include delegates from a broad spectrum of anti…
EventThe Progressive Teachers’ Congress is secretly launched
The Black teachers' association, the Progressive Teachers' Congress (PROTECO) was clandestinely launched in the Transvaal to fill the vacuum, which was created…
EventThe Pope arrives in Lesotho
The Pope arrives in Lesotho Pope John Paul , leader of the Catholic Church arrives in Lesotho amidst a hijacking crisis that revealed Lesotho's dependence on…