SAHO global search
63,723 records
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…
EventShift in US Foreign Policy toward apartheid state takes place
The Republican US President Ronald Reagan accepts that the policy of constructive engagement has failed. He announces a change in United States foreign policy…
EventCarte Blanche is denied permission to quote Oliver Tambo
On 30 January 1987 the Minister of Law and Order issued a message to the newspapers denying Carte Blanche, an investigative television programme permission to…
EventTambo meets US representative in Washington
Following a change of policy in the United States of America (USA), US Secretary of State George Shultz met African National Congress (ANC) leader Oliver Tambo…
EventMore than a dozen people are killed, including seven children, in Kwamakhutha Massacre
From 1976 to 1996, political violence in KwaZulu Natal led to 11 700 deaths and the displacement of up to 500 000 people. The organization and savagery of the…
EventThe first hearing looking into the mysterious death of Samora Machel begins
The Margo Commission, set up by the South African government to probe the mysterious death of Mozambican president Samora Machel, started its first hearing at…
EventConstable Vlotman is given a R500 fine and a five year suspension sentence
On 18 January 1987, Constable Vlotman a member of the South African Police Services (SAPS) who assaulted three journalists in Athlone, Cape Town, in September…
EventRev Allan Hendrikse and 150 Supporters Swim at a Whites Only Beach in Port Elizabeth.
Labour Party Leader, Reverend Allan Hendrikse, who is known for voicing his disagreement with the government publicly despite being part of P W Botha's cabinet…
EventEbrahim, Maseko and Dladla are abducted in Swaziland
South African Security Forces abducted African National Congress (ANC) activists Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, Mandla Maseko and Simon Dladla in Swaziland and…
Two Swiss citizens are abducted from Swaziland and questioned on their suspected involvement with the ANC
EventANC Matthews Mapumolo dies in police custody
Matthews Mapumolo, an African National Congress (ANC) member, dies in police custody after he had been confronted at home in Swaziland by a group of armed men…
EventWinnie Mandela attacked by a group of people
Winnie Mandela, at the time wife of imprisoned African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela, was pelted with eggs and cool drink cans while leaving…
EventDr Ribeiro and his wife are gunned down
The medical practitioner and political activist, Dr Fabian Defu Ribeiro, and his wife, a teacher turned businesswoman, Florence Barbara Ribeiro, were finally…
EventA police mob attacks big SWAPO rally
This day in history, an armed mob and riot police disrupted a rally organised by the South West African Political Organisation (SWAPO). The meeting was held in…
EventThree Delmas trialist released
Three of the 22 Delmas Treason trialists were released after Judge K van Dijkhorst delivered his judgment. The judge released them on the grounds that there…
EventDisinvestment moves by two major companies
In a shocking move a major European company, Barclays Bank, announced that it was selling its remaining 40 per cent holding in its South African associate,…