1998 in South Africa
Encyclopedia
January
- 3 January – Six policemen from the North East Rand Dog Unit set their dogs on three suspected illegal immigrants, allowing the animals to savage the three men as the officers hurled racial insults. The incident was caught on video and televised nationally on 7 Nov. 2000, causing widespread outrage. All six policemen were ultimately sentenced to jail terms of between four and five years each.
March
- 9 March – Robert McBride, an official in the Department of Foreign Affairs is arrested by the Mozambican police in Ressano Garcia, Mozambique for gun smuggling
- 18 March – An ex-Rhodesian Royal Air Force Percival Provost Mk 52Percival Provost|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzo. World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing, 1981. ISBN 0-7106-0148-4....
, which had only recently been restored to flying condition by the South African Air Force Museum. The pilot, Rick Culpan who was a test pilot for Denel Aviation, dies 4 days later from his injuries. - 21 March – The Socialist Party of AzaniaSocialist Party of AzaniaThe Socialist Party of Azania is a Scientific Socialist, Black Consciousness political party in South Africa. In the 2004 general elections, it received only 0.1% of the vote and no legislatorial seats at either the national and provincial levels....
(SOPA) is started
June
- 4 June – Ferdi Barnard, Civil Cooperation BureauCivil Cooperation BureauThe South African Civil Cooperation Bureau was a government-sponsored hit squad during the apartheid era that operated under the authority of Defence Minister General Magnus Malan...
member, receives 2 life sentences plus 63 years in prison for the murder of David WebsterDavid Webster (anthropologist)David Webster was a social anthropologist in South Africa who was murdered by covert forces of the Apartheid state.-Life:... - * 5 June – Thulane Malinga, super middleweightSuper middleweightSuper Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
boxerBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, wins the World Boxing FederationWorld Boxing FederationThe World Boxing Federation is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. Its offices are located in Luxembourg.-History:...
(WBF) title
July
- 16 July – Bulelani NgcukaBulelani NgcukaBulelani T Ngcuka was the first national Director of Public Prosecutions in South Africa, and is the husband of former Deputy President of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. He was embroiled in controversy after being accused of being an apartheid spy...
is elected as the first National Director of Public Prosecutions
August
- 25 August – A pipe bombPipe bombA pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device, a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively large explosion, and the fragmentation of the pipe itself creates potentially...
explodes at Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
's Victoria & Alfred WaterfrontVictoria & Alfred WaterfrontThe Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in the historic heart of Cape Town's working harbour is South Africa's most-visited destination, having the highest rate of foreign tourists of any attraction in the country...
's Planet HollywoodPlanet HollywoodPlanet Hollywood, a restaurant inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, was launched in New York on October 22, 1991, with the backing of Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.-History:...
restaurant seriously injuring 26 people which two later died in hospital
September
- 14 September – Robert McBride, an official in the Department of Foreign Affairs, is conditionally released from prison in MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
- 16 September – A 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...
Impala IAermacchi MB-326The Aermacchi or Macchi MB-326 is a light military jet aircraft designed in Italy. Originally conceived as a two-seat trainer, there have also been single and two-seat light attack versions produced. It is one of the most commercially successful aircraft of its type, being bought by more than 10...
crashes at AFB BloemspruitAFB BloemspruitAFB Bloemspruit is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is co-located with Bloemfontein Airport , and shares its runways.The base motto is Ex Unite Pax, ....
October
- 9 October – The Constitutional CourtConstitutional Court of South AfricaThe Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. In terms of the 1996 Constitution the Constitutional Court established in 1994 continues to hold office. The court began its first sessions in February...
invalidates the sodomy lawSodomy lawA sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed unnatural. It also has a range of similar euphemisms...
s in the case of National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality and Another v Minister of Justice and Others.
December
- Sivan Pillay discovers SA Rock band Watershed in Times Square Sandton
Athletics
- 22 February – Frank Pooe wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:13:09 in PinelandsPinelandsPinelands can refer to the following things:* Pine Barrens * New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve* Pinelands Regional School District, a school district in Tuckerton, New Jersey, USA...
.
Deaths
- 22 April – Kitch ChristieKitch ChristieGeorge Moir Christie, better known as Kitch Christie , was a South African rugby union coach best known for coaching the country's national team, the Springboks, to victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup...
(58), rugby coach who led the SpringboksSouth Africa national rugby union teamThe South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup1995 Rugby World CupThe 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
(leukemia) - 4 May – Worsie Visser (35), singer, is killed when his plane crashes at Saldanha BaySaldanha BaySaldanha Bay is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa, north west of Cape Town. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns into the Saldanha Bay Local Municipality in 2000. The current population of...
, Western CapeWestern CapeThe Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province... - 7 May – Allan CormackAllan McLeod CormackAllan MacLeod Cormack was a South African-born American physicist who won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on X-ray computed tomography ....
(74), physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, dies of cancer in MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... - 17 December – Dorothy Nyembe, a political activist passes away