1989 in South Africa
Encyclopedia
January
- A EskomEskomEskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission by the government of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act . It was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie . The two acronyms were combined in 1986 and...
sub-station in Glenwood, DurbanDurbanDurban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
is damaged by explosion, later police defuse a second bomb found nearby - Explosion at the home of the chair of the Ministers Council in the House of Delegates in BenoniBenoni, GautengBenoni is a city with 654,509 inhabitants on the East Rand in the South African province of Gauteng. Since 2000, it has been part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.- History :...
- An explosion at aircraft factory in CiskeiCiskeiCiskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It covered an area of 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
- Two municipal police are killed in grenade attack on Katlehong's Municipal Police Station
- 8 January - The African National CongressAfrican National CongressThe African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
announces that it will start dismantling its guerrillaGuerrilla warfareGuerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
camps in AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
in support of the peace process - 18 January - State President of South AfricaState President of South AfricaState President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state...
P.W. Botha has a mild strokeStrokeA stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage... - 19 January - Chris HeunisChris HeunisJan Christiaan Heunis was a South African Afrikaner lawyer, politician, member of the National Party and former minister in the governments of John Vorster and P.W. Botha....
, Minister of Constitutional Development and Planning, is appointed Acting State President
February
- An ailing State President Pieter Willem BothaPieter Willem BothaPieter Willem Botha , commonly known as "P. W." and Die Groot Krokodil , was the prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989.First elected to Parliament in 1948, Botha was for eleven years head of the Afrikaner National Party and the...
steps down from the leadership of the National Party, but remains state president - Trevor ManuelTrevor ManuelTrevor Andrew Manuel is a South African politician, currently serving in the Cabinet of South Africa as Minister in the Presidency in charge of the National Planning Commission...
is released from detention under stringent restriction orders - An explosion at a municipal police barracks in SowetoSowetoSoweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
, injures four policemen - An explosion next to a police parade in Katlehong kills a municipal constable and injures nine others
- A limpet explodes at the home of the commander of Katlehong Police Station, Col. D. Dlamini
March
- An explosion outside the Natal Command HQ on DurbanDurbanDurban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
's beachfront - 15–21 March - A conference of African National CongressAfrican National CongressThe African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
' chief representatives and regional treasurers is held in Gran, NorwayGran, Norwayis a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hadeland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Jaren. There is also a village of Gran located within the municipality....
there was an explosion on the 10 of march in Durban at the blazer company for school kids
May
- The South African Air ForceSouth African Air ForceThe South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
's Klippan Radar Station in the Western TransvaalTransvaal ProvinceTransvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
comes under mortarMortar (weapon)A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
attack - 5 May - 3 South African Embassy staff are ordered to leave BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
within 7 days because of the attempted smuggling of a Blowpipe missileBlowpipe missileThe Shorts Blowpipe is a man-portable surface-to-air missile which was in use with the British Army and Royal Marines from 1975. It was superseded by an interim design, Javelin, and later the greatly improved Starstreak missile.-Description:...
June
- Four bystanders are injured when a limpet mineLimpet mineA limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets; they are so named because of their superficial similarity to the limpet, a type of mollusk....
explodes under police vehicle in DuduzaDuduzaDuduza is a township west of Nigel on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1964 when Africans were resettled from Charterston because it was considered by the apartheid government to be too close to a white town. A local authority was established in 1983. Duduza experienced... - A limpet place under a vehicle parked outside a policeman's home in TsakaneTsakaneTsakane is a township south of Brakpan close to two other townships KwaThema and Duduza on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. Nickname "E-Mashona".-History:...
explodes - A grenade is thrown at a police patrol in Tsakane
- A limpet mine explodes in rubbish bin outside the home of policeman in SowetoSowetoSoweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
- A bomb shatters the windows of KwaThema Police station's dining hall
- A limpet mine explodes at the Police single quarters in RatandaRatandaRatanda is a township south of Heidelberg in Gauteng, South Africa.It was established in 1955. Ratanda was one of the first townships to be affected by unrest which broke out in 1984 on the highveld....
- A limpet mine explodes at the home of Boetie Abramjee, a National PartyNational Party (South Africa)The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
MP
July
- 5 July - PW Botha, State President of South AfricaState President of South AfricaState President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state...
, and Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
(in prison at the time) meet for the first time
August
- A grenade is thrown into a Labour Party polling station in Bishop Lavis
- The BrixtonBrixtonBrixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
Flying Squad HQ is attacked with hand grenades and AK-47AK-47The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s - Lt-Col. Frank Zwane, a former liaison officer for the police and his two sons are injured in a grenade attack in SowetoSowetoSoweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
- An explosion at the Athlone Police Station
- The Cabinet prevails on P.W. Botha to resign as state president - FW de KlerkFrederik Willem de KlerkFrederik Willem de Klerk , often known as F. W. de Klerk, is the former seventh and last State President of apartheid-era South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994...
becomes acting State President of South AfricaState President of South AfricaState President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state...
September
- A police patrol is ambushed by terrorist or freedom fighters in Katlehong
- A mini-limpet explodes outside the Mamelodi Police station
- Purple Rain Protest, rioters in Greenmarket Square, Cape Town are sprayed with a purple dye. The resulting graffiti, "The purple shall govern" graces the pages of newspapers worldwide.
- Parliamentary elections are held - the National Party wins again
- Acting state president FW de KlerkFrederik Willem de KlerkFrederik Willem de Klerk , often known as F. W. de Klerk, is the former seventh and last State President of apartheid-era South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994...
becomes the 9th State President of South AfricaState President of South AfricaState President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state... - 100 000 people attend a peace march called by Cape Town city mayor, Gordon Oliver, in conjunction with religious leaders.
Unknown date
- The Hluhluwe and Umfolozi Game Reserves are joined through the Corridor Reserve as the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game ReserveHluhluwe-Umfolozi Game ReserveHluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, located 280 km north of Durban, is the oldest proclaimed park in Africa. It consists of 960 km² of hilly topography in central Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. The park is the only...
- The government starts dismantling six nuclear fissionNuclear fissionIn nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
devices that were built during the apartheid era
Athletics
- 25 February – Willie Mtolo wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:13:13 in Port Elizabeth.
Deaths
- 1 May - David WebsterDavid Webster (anthropologist)David Webster was a social anthropologist in South Africa who was murdered by covert forces of the Apartheid state.-Life:...
, an academic at the University of the WitwatersrandUniversity of the WitwatersrandThe University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
and an anti-apartheid activist, was shot dead outside his home in Eleanor Street, Troyeville, JohannesburgJohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa... - 12 September - Anton LubowskiAnton LubowskiAnton Theodor Eberhard August Lubowski was a Namibian advocate and SWAPO member assassinated by operatives of South Africa’s Civil Cooperation Bureau.-Education and early life:...
, advocateAdvocateAn advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
and secretary-general of the South West Africa People's Organization is shot dead outside his home in WindhoekWindhoekWindhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
, South West AfricaSouth West AfricaSouth-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....