2002 in South Africa
Encyclopedia
January
- 29 January – Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organisation, begins importing a cheap, generic version of patented AIDS drugs into South Africa in a direct defiance to South Africa's patent laws
March
- 27 March – Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-MsimangManto Tshabalala-MsimangDr. Mantombazana 'Manto' Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang was a South African politician. She was Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999 and controversially served as Minister of Health from 1999 to 2008 under President Thabo Mbeki...
approaches 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...
to stop the issuing of nevirapine - March – Sivan Pillay, Ed JordanEd JordanEd Jordan is a South African musician, composer, singer-songwriter, actor, TV and radio presenter. His most recent work was for Spud the Movie starring John Cleese, where he wrote and produced the orchestral score and the theme songs as working as music supervisor on the film...
, Nkhensani Mangani and Karl Anderson are appointed as the first judges of major reality show Coca Cola Popstars, which yields two new pop groups, winners 101 and runners-up Afro Z
April
- 25 April – Mark ShuttleworthMark ShuttleworthMark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2010, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system...
gained worldwide fame as the second self-funded spaceflight participant - 26 April – 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...
ImpalaAermacchi 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...
jet crashes near the Albasini Dam between Louis Trichardt and MusinaMusinaMusina or Messina is the northernmost town in the Limpopo province of South Africa near the Limpopo River border to Zimbabwe. It has a population of between 20,000 and 40,000. Iron ore, coal, magnetite, graphite, asbestos, diamonds, semi-precious stones and copper are mined in the...
killing pilot Captain Brett Burmeister
May
- 20 May – Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-MsimangManto Tshabalala-MsimangDr. Mantombazana 'Manto' Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang was a South African politician. She was Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999 and controversially served as Minister of Health from 1999 to 2008 under President Thabo Mbeki...
announces at the World Health AssemblyWorld Health AssemblyThe World Health Assembly is the forum through which the World Health Organization is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states....
in Geneva that South Africa pledges R20 million to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosisTuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and malariaMalariaMalaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
June
- 1 June – Hansie CronjeHansie CronjeWessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s...
killed in an air crash near George, Western CapeGeorge, Western CapeGeorge is a city with 203,253 inhabitants in South Africa's Western Cape province. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub of the Garden Route.- Location :... - 16 June – The Hector PietersonHector PietersonHector Pieterson became the subject of an iconic image of the 1976 Soweto uprising in South Africa when a news photograph by Sam Nzima of the dying Hector being carried by another student while his sister ran next to them, was published around the world. He was killed at the age of 12 when the...
Museum became the first museum to open 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... - 27 June – Two 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...
Atlas OryxAtlas OryxThe Atlas Oryx is a medium-sized utility helicopter manufactured by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation of South Africa.-Design and development:...
helicopters flying from the South African research ship Agulhas took emergency food supplies and evacuated 21 Russian scientists from the German-owned Magdalena Oldendorff which was trapped in ice off Antarctica since 16 June
July
- 15 July – 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...
calls on government and business leaders worldwide to find ways to provide access to treatment to those people living with HIV/AIDS
August
- 8 August – The government announces the go-ahead for an anti-retroviral roll-out plan
- 9 August – Ed FaganEd FaganEdward Davis "Ed" Fagan is a controversial former American reparations lawyer who was punished by the Supreme Court for his conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation...
leds a $50bn class action suit by a few apartheid-era victims against international firms and banks who profited from dealings with apartheid government - 25 August – The Medicines Control Council threatens to de-register Nevirapine unless further studies and appropriate documentation can show its efficacy in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV
September
- 15 September – Johan PretoriusJohan PretoriusJohan "Lets" Pretorius is a medical doctor from Potgietersrus, South Africa as well as a right-winger who belongs to the Boeremag, an irredentist organization...
, BoeremagBoeremagThe Boeremag is a South African right-wing activism group with white separatist aims and is accused of planning to overthrow the ruling African National Congress government and to reinstate a new Boer administered republic reminiscent of the era when Boers administered independent republics...
member, is arrested and charged when he was found with a truckload of weapons and explosives in LichtenburgLichtenburg, North WestLichtenburg is a town situated in North West Province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre of Ditsobotla Local Municipality.The town was established in 1873 and was named by Transvaal President Thomas François Burgers, Lichtenburg... - 20 September – Boeremag members, Dirk Hanekom and Henk van Zyl, are arrested in Memel, Free StateMemel, Free StateMemel is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa, possibly named after the port city of Memel, East Prussia , but no current residents can verify that.The name means surrounded by water in Old Prussian...
but only Hanekom is charged - 22 September – 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...
Museum's only flying T-6G HarvardT-6 TexanThe North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
crashes into power lines during a flypast at the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2002 being held at AFB WaterkloofAFB WaterkloofAir Force Base Waterkloof is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is situated on the outskirts of Pretoria, and is the SAAF's busiest airbase.The base's name, Waterkloof, is Afrikaans, it means Water Ravine in English....
, PretoriaPretoriaPretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. Pilot Col Jeff Earle escaped with minor injuries.
October
- 10 October – 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...
Thabo MbekiThabo MbekiThabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
states that AIDS drugs are dangerously toxic to people and questions whether HIV or poverty is the true cause of Aids - 30 October – 9 bombs explode 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...
and 1 in Bronkhorstspruit. The BoeremagBoeremagThe Boeremag is a South African right-wing activism group with white separatist aims and is accused of planning to overthrow the ruling African National Congress government and to reinstate a new Boer administered republic reminiscent of the era when Boers administered independent republics...
claims responsibility
November
- 4 November – Alleged BoeremagBoeremagThe Boeremag is a South African right-wing activism group with white separatist aims and is accused of planning to overthrow the ruling African National Congress government and to reinstate a new Boer administered republic reminiscent of the era when Boers administered independent republics...
leader Tom Vorster arrested in PretoriaPretoriaPretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
for the October bombings - 22 November – A bomb explodes at the Grand Central AirportGrand Central AirportGrand Central Airport is a small privately owned airfield which is open to public air traffic. It is located in Midrand, halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa...
in Midrand, GautengGautengGauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994... - 28 November – A bomb explodes on a bridge on the border between KwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
and the Eastern Cape Provinces
December
- 16–20 December – 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...
holds their 51st National Conference in Stellenbosch
Deaths
- 26 April – Steve TshweteSteve TshweteSteve Vukhile Tshwete was a South African politician and activist with the African National Congress. Involved in the Umkhonto we Sizwe, Tshwete was imprisoned by the apartheid authorities on Robben Island from February 1964 to 1983...
, activist and politician - 15 May – Nellie ShabalalaNellie ShabalalaNellie Shabalala was the wife of Ladysmith Black Mambazo leader and founder, Joseph Shabalala, for over thirty years. She had formed her own allied group, Women of Mambazo, in the 1970s...
, wife of Ladysmith Black MambazoLadysmith Black MambazoLadysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland and have won multiple awards, including three Grammy Awards...
leader and founder Joseph ShabalalaJoseph ShabalalaJoseph Shabalala , born Bhekizizwe Joseph Siphatimandla Mxoveni Mshengu Bigboy Shabalala, is the founder and musical director of the South African choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.-Early life and career:... - 1 June – Hansie CronjeHansie CronjeWessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s...
dies in a plane crash in the mountains near George - 29 June – Stephen FryStephen Fry (rugby player)Stephen Perry Fry was a South African rugby union player, most often playing as a flanker. Fry played rugby for his home town of Somerset West and provincial rugby for Western Province...
, South African rugby union captain, 77