1980 in South Africa
Encyclopedia
January
- 14 January - Local community at Soekmekaar resist forced removal and damage police station
- 25 January - Three Umkhonto we SizweUmkhonto we SizweUmkhonto we Sizwe , translated "Spear of the Nation," was the armed wing of the African National Congress which fought against the South African apartheid government. MK launched its first guerrilla attacks against government installations on 16 December 1961...
operatives Stephen Mafoko, Humphrey Makhubo and Wilfred Madela held the staff and customers in a Silverton bank 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...
hostage. This was followed by a shoot-out with the police in which two civilians and the three operatives were killed
March
- Two terrorists are killed by police in Bophutatswana, while another escapes.
- 12 March - The Nederduits Gereformeerde KerkNederduits Gereformeerde KerkThe Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighboring countries, such as Namibia, Swaziland, and parts of Botswana and Zimbabwe...
(NGK) together with its sister church for Blacks (the NGK in Afrika), Coloureds (the NG Sendingkerk) and Indians (the Reformed Church in Africa) issue a statement stating that the Churches bring no objection in principle if the authorities judge that circumstances justify reconsideration of the Immorality Act and the Mixed Marriages Act.- Nine people are sentenced in Pretoria to five to seven years imprisonment for training as guerrillas outside South Africa and recruiting others to undergo training
April
- 4 April - Umkhonto we SizweUmkhonto we SizweUmkhonto we Sizwe , translated "Spear of the Nation," was the armed wing of the African National Congress which fought against the South African apartheid government. MK launched its first guerrilla attacks against government installations on 16 December 1961...
attack the Booysens Police Station in 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...
with grenades, rocket launchers and AK47s - 21 April - More than sixty coloured high schools, teacher training colleges and the University of the Western CapeUniversity of the Western CapeThe University of the Western Cape is a public university located in the Bellville suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It was established in 1960 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only...
start boycotting classes - 29 April - Hundreds of coloured school children are arrested in 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...
during a student-police confrontation in terms of the Riotous Assemblies Act
May
- 2 May - Pink FloydPink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's Another Brick in the WallAnother Brick in the Wall"Another Brick in the Wall" is the title of three songs set to variations of the same basic theme, on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera, The Wall, subtitled Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3...
is banned because the government fear that it might be used as a song of liberty by black school children - 6 May - Thozamile BothaThozamile BothaThozamile Botha is a South African politician. He started his political career as a trade unionist and was an executive member of the Congress of South African Trade Unions. Due to the apartheid government he went into exile in 1980 to Lesotho where he worked with Chris Hani...
, an activist living in Port Elizabeth area breaks his banning order and escapes to MaseruMaseruMaseru is the capital of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, bordering South Africa, Maseru is Lesotho's only sizable city, with a population of approximately 227,880 . The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the...
, LesothoLesothoLesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name... - 25 May - The South African Defence ForceSouth African Defence ForceThe South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
attacks the city of Chifufua, 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 Operation Sceptic
June
- 1 June Bombs explode at SasolSasolSasol Ltd. is a South African company involved in mining, energy, chemicals and synfuels. In particular, they produce petrol and diesel profitably from coal and natural gas using Fischer-Tropsch process...
1, 2 and Natref Eight at SasolburgSasolburgSasolburg is a large industrial town in the far north of the Free State province of South Africa. Sasolburg is further sub-divided into three areas: Sasolburg proper, Vaalpark and Zamdela...
, Secunda with no injuries and R58-m damage. The attack was organised by Solomon Mahlangu of the Umkhonto weSizwe Special Operations.
October
- 14 October - 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...
community calls for a stayaway to protest against rent increases - 15 October - Bomb explodes and damages railway line in Dube, Soweto and Piet KoornhofPiet KoornhofPieter G. J. Koornhof was a South African politician. As an apartheid-era National Party cabinet minister, he held various portfolios in the cabinets of B.J. Vorster and P.W. Botha, and was later appointed ambassador to the United States...
, minister of co-operation and development, visits the scene - 29 October - Umkhonto we Sizwe cadres throw two grenades into the government buildings of the West Rand Administration Board and injure a security guard and friend
- 30 October - A bomb explodes at the TranskeiTranskeiThe Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
consuls residence in Port Elizabeth; no injuries
Sport
- 12 January – The British Sports Council begins a three-week fact-finding tour of South Africa to investigate racial discrimination in sport
Athletics
- 11 October – Thompson Magawana wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:12:50 in FaureFaureFaure or Fauré is a French family name and may refer to:People:* Edgar Faure, French politician* Élie Faure, French art historian and essayist* Émile Alphonse Faure, lead battery pioneer* Cédric Fauré, French football striker...
.
Motorsport
- 1 March – The South African Grand Prix1980 South African Grand PrixThe 1980 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on March 1, 1980.Alain Prost and Marc Surer both crashed in separate incidents during qualifying: Prost broke his wrist and Surer suffered serious injuries to his legs. Neither started the race, with Prost also missing...
, is held at KyalamiKyalamiKyalami is a motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng province, South Africa. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix and Formula One races and has hosted the South African Grand Prix many times. In recent years, the area surrounding the circuit has developed into a residential and...
Rugby
- 10 May – The British and Irish LionsBritish and Irish LionsThe British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
begin a hugely controversial 18-match tour of South Africa1980 British Lions tour to South AfricaIn 1980 the British Lions rugby union team toured South Africa . The tour was not a success in terms of international results, the Lions losing the first three tests before salvaging some pride with a win in the fourth...
, despite protests from anti-apartheid groups. The tourists lose three of the four Tests.
Births
- 29 January Stefan Bothma, Civil EngineerCivil engineerA civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, is born in BloemfonteinBloemfonteinBloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, South Africa - 9 October Cassidy Cruise, Glamour model, is born in 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...
, South Africa
Deaths
- 12 March - Lillian Masediba NgoyiLilian NgoyiLillian Masediba Ngoyi "Ma Ngoyi", , was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was the first woman elected to the executive committee of the African National Congress, and helped launch the Federation of South African Women.Ngoyi joined the ANC Women's League in 1952; she was at that stage a...
"Ma Ngoyi", a dressmaker, political activist and trade unionist, who suffered from heart trouble, dies at the age of 68 in 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... - June - Expelled 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...
official, Tennyson Makiwane is shot dead - 4 June - Patrick Makau, Umkhonto weSizwe member, and his child (9) are killed in a bomb attack on two houses in Manzini, SwazilandSwazilandSwaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
.