1985 in South Africa
Encyclopedia

January

  • Three guerrillas and a policeman are killed in a skirmish near Nongoma
  • 31 January - Pieter Willem Botha
    Pieter Willem Botha
    Pieter 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...

    , State President of South Africa
    State President of South Africa
    State 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...

     offers a release proposal to jailed African National Congress
    African National Congress
    The 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...

     leader Nelson Mandela
    Nelson Mandela
    Nelson 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...

    • Dr Gerrit Viljoen
      Gerrit Viljoen
      Gerrit Van Niekerk Viljoen was a South African government minister and member of the National Party....

      , Minister of Cooperation and Development announces that the forced removal of Blacks will be suspended

February

  • 9 February - Explosion damages the Old Defence Force offices in Marshall Street, Johannesburg
  • 10 February - Nelson Mandela
    Nelson Mandela
    Nelson 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...

    , African National Congress
    African National Congress
    The 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...

     leader, rejects Pieter Willem Botha
    Pieter Willem Botha
    Pieter 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...

    's offer of conditional release

March

  • A Limpet mine
    Limpet mine
    A 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....

     destroys a police vehicle in Mamelodi
  • Two guerrillas are killed and one captured in the Eastern Transvaal
    Transvaal Province
    Transvaal 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:...

  • A grenade attack on unnamed special branch policeman's home in Tembisa
    Tembisa
    Tembisa is a large township situated to the north of Kempton Park on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1957 when Africans were resettled from Alexandra and other areas in Edenvale, Kempton Park, Midrand and Germiston.-Etymology:...

  • 21 March - Seventeen people are killed when police open fire at the twenty-fifth commemoration of the Sharpeville Massacre
    Sharpeville massacre
    The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal . After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69...

     demonstration marches in Langa, Port Elizabeth
  • 22 March - Two guerrillas are killed in Bosbokrand
  • 27 March - Over 200 people are arrested for marching through Cape Town
    Cape Town
    Cape 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...

     to Pollsmoor Prison protesting for the release of Nelson Mandela
    Nelson Mandela
    Nelson 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...

    , including two clerics, Beyers Naudé
    Beyers Naudé
    Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé was a South African cleric, theologian and the leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist...

     and Allan Boesak
    Allan Boesak
    Reverend Allan Aubrey Boesak is a South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric and politician and anti-apartheid activist...

     who led the march

April

  • 30 April - The Rand Daily Mail, a leading anti-apartheid newspaper
    Newspaper
    A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

    , ceases publication

May

  • 2 May - An explosion rocks the building housing the gold
    Gold
    Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

     mining companies of Anglo American and Anglovaal in Johannesburg
    Johannesburg
    Johannesburg 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...

     and cause R170,000 worth of structural damage. Both companies are engaged in mass dismissals of mine workers
  • 9 May - Two grenade attacks in Pretoria
    Pretoria
    Pretoria 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...

     townships
  • 15 May - Three explosions damage the Brakpan Police barracks
    • Guerrillas attack the buildings of the Brakpan Commissioners court and offices of Messenger of the court
    • Funeral of Andries Raditsela, an Umkhonto we Sizwe
      Umkhonto we Sizwe
      Umkhonto 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...

       member who had died in detention
  • 28 May or 30 May - A Limpet mine causes structural damage to the Military Medical Centre in Hillbrow, Johannesburg
    Johannesburg
    Johannesburg 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...

     (sources give different dates)
  • 31 May - Guerrillas attack the Southern Cross Fund offices and injure 14 people

June

  • Three limpet mines explode at Natalia Development Board buildings in Lamontville
  • Three limpet mines explode at the Umlazi
    Umlazi
    Umlazi is a township on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The wider Umlazi area has a population of 750,000. The township is located south-west of Durban....

     Police station in Durban
    Durban
    Durban 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...

  • An eskom
    Eskom
    Eskom 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 Durban is damaged by explosion
  • A bomb damages the offices of AECI
    AECI
    AECI Limited is a South African chemicals group and is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange.-History:The company was registered as African Explosives and Chemical Industries in 1924, with its headquarters in Johannesburg...

     which is involved in a labour dispute
  • An Explosion destroys Transkei
    Transkei
    The 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...

     Development Corporation bulk fuel depot in Umtata. It disrupts the water and power supplies to the town
  • Guerrillas throw petrol bombs and hand grenades at the home of Amichand Rajbansi
    Amichand Rajbansi
    Amichand Rajbansi is a South African politician. He is a former Chief Minister of the House of Delegates Tricameral parliamentary chamber for Indian people, and leader of the Minority Front....

  • A policeman who fired on a crowd is killed by alleged insurgents in Mmabatho
    Mmabatho
    Mmabatho is the former capital of the North-West Province of South Africa. In the apartheid era, it was the capital of the former "Bantustan" of Bophuthatswana. Following the end of apartheid in 1994, Bophuthatswana was integrated into the newly established North-West Province and Mmabatho was...

  • 14 June - South African Army
    South African Army
    The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...

     raid houses and offices of Umkhonto we Sizwe
    Umkhonto we Sizwe
    Umkhonto 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...

    , killing 12 activists, in what is known as Operation Plecksy

July

  • Limpet mines destroy a sub-station in Durban
    Durban
    Durban 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...

  • The Soweto
    Soweto
    Soweto 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...

     group dubbed the Suicide Squad attacks home of two Soweto policemen
  • A hand grenade is thrown at a bakery in Umlazi
    Umlazi
    Umlazi is a township on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The wider Umlazi area has a population of 750,000. The township is located south-west of Durban....

    , Durban where workers were on strike
  • A hand grenade is thrown at the former community councillor in Gugulethu
  • At a police roadblock near East London, two guerrillas and a policeman are killed in a shootout
  • 2 - 6 July - The African National Congress
    African National Congress
    The 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...

     hold their second national consultative conference in Kabwe
    Kabwe
    Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province with a population estimated at 210,000. Formerly named Broken Hill, it was founded when the Broken Hill lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also has a claim to being the birthplace of Zambian politics...

    , Zambia
    Zambia
    Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

  • 20 July - P. W. Botha declares a state of emergency in 36 magisterial districts.

August

  • A hand grenade is thrown into the home of MP Barend Andrews
  • A hand grenade is thrown into the home of a Mamelodi policeman
  • Three limpet mines explode in department stores in Durban
    Durban
    Durban 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...

    , causing limited damage and no injuries
  • A bomb explodes in a night club at an Umlazi
    Umlazi
    Umlazi is a township on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The wider Umlazi area has a population of 750,000. The township is located south-west of Durban....

     hotel, Durban and 30 children are injured
  • 2 August - At a roadblock near Mount Ruth
    Mount Ruth
    Mount Ruth is a ridge-shaped mountain, 2,170 m, standing 3 nautical miles west of Mount Gardiner, at the southeast side of the lower reaches of Bartlett Glacier, in the Queen Maud Mountains. Discovered in December 1934 by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition geological party under Quin Blackburn, and...

    , two guerrillas and a policeman is killed
  • 10 August - Police defuse a limpet mine found on a petrol/gas bowser at a fuel depot in East London

September

  • Trevor Manuel
    Trevor Manuel
    Trevor 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 detained by police, he is then banned until 1990
    1990 in South Africa
    -February:* 2 February - President FW de Klerk scraps apartheid and states that Nelson Mandela will be released** The African National Congress, Pan Africanist Congress and the Communist Party are unbanned...

    , but it was lifted 1986
    1986 in South Africa
    -January:* A Soweto man throws a grenade at 3 policemen, police retaliate and kill the man* 4 January - Two people are killed and two others injured when their vehicle hit an anti-tank land mine at Stockpoort in the Ellisras area not far from the Botswana border...

  • 27-28 September - Limpet mines damages the basement of OK Bazaars in Smith Street, Game Stores and Checkers, all supermarkets in central Durban
    Durban
    Durban 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...

    . A Limpet mine is defused in Spar, central Durban

October

  • The home of a Umlazi
    Umlazi
    Umlazi is a township on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The wider Umlazi area has a population of 750,000. The township is located south-west of Durban....

     school headmaster is attacked with a hand grenade
  • Limpet mine detonates whilst being armed killing Zinto Cele, Mandlenkosi Ndimande and injuring Sibusiso Mazibuko - Grosvener Girls School, Bluff, Durban on 24 October 1985

November

  • Four people killed in 20 hand grenade attacks in the Cape Town
    Cape Town
    Cape 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...

     region
  • A bomb damages a central Johannesburg
    Johannesburg
    Johannesburg 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...

     building housing Institute of Bankers
  • Sasol
    Sasol
    Sasol 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...

     2 and 3 come under rocket attack and three guerrillas are killed by police
  • An anti-tank mine explodes in the Soutpansberg
    Soutpansberg
    The Soutpansberg meaning "Salt Pan Mountain" in Afrikaans, is a range of mountains in the far north of South Africa. It is named for the salt pan located at its western end. The mountain reaches the opposite extremity at in the Matikwa Nature Reserve, some due east...

     area and four defence force members and four others injured
  • Four guerrillas are killed and two injured by Bophutatswana Police
  • A building housing the Institute of Bankers in central Johannesburg is damaged in a blast
  • A hand grenade explodes at a Barclays National Bank branch in Woodstock, Cape Town

December

  • A limpet mine explodes at 18h00 and causes structural damage to the Chatsworth
    Chatsworth
    -Places:Australia* Chatsworth, Queensland* Electoral district of Chatsworth, Queensland, AustraliaCanada* Chatsworth, Ontario, a township* Chatsworth, Ontario , located within above townshipSouth Africa* Chatsworth, Durban* Chatsworth, Western Cape...

     Magistrates Court outside Durban
    Durban
    Durban 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...

  • A grenade is thrown at a tourist kombi in central Durban
  • 8 December - The Chesterville home of a policeman is bombed
  • 13 December - A South African Army
    South African Army
    The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...

     anti-mine troop carrier detonates an anti-tank mine in Messina, one soldier injured
  • 14 December - A guerrilla is killed in Chiawelo
  • 15 December - Five people are killed and five injured (three of the dead were children aged two, eight and ten) when their vehicle detonates an anti-tank mine on the Chatsworth farm near Messina. A one-year-old boy survived the blast
  • 17 December - A limpet mine explodes at 03h00 and damages eight buses belonging to PUTCO
    PUTCO
    The Public Utility Transport Corporation provides commuter bus services in Gauteng, Limpopo and the western parts of Mpumalanga in South Africa. PUTCO was established in 1945 after the bus strike of 1944...

     at their Fleetline depot in Umlazi
    Umlazi
    Umlazi is a township on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The wider Umlazi area has a population of 750,000. The township is located south-west of Durban....

    , Durban
  • 19 December - A farmer is injured when his vehicle hits an anti-tank mine in the Weipe area
  • 20 December - The South African Army
    South African Army
    The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...

     carries out a raid into Maseru
    Maseru
    Maseru 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...

    , Lesotho
    Lesotho
    Lesotho , 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...

  • 21 December - A limpet mine attached to minibus injures 8 or 13 people
  • 23 December - A bomb explodes in an Amanzimtoti shopping centre which kills five people and injures 40 others. Andrew Zondo, is later arrested for the bomb, claims that he attempted to warn the mall but failed. He was later hanged.
  • 29 December - the police defuse a pamphlet bomb in Durban

Unknown date

  • George Bizos
    George Bizos
    George Bizos is a distinguished human rights advocate who campaigned against apartheid in South Africa, most notably during the Rivonia Trial.-Early life:...

     becomes a judge on Botswana
    Botswana
    Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

    's Court of Appeal
  • The Delmas Treason Trial
    Delmas Treason Trial
    The Delmas Treason Trial in South Africa was the prosecution of 22 anti-apartheid activists under security laws, with the intention of suppressing the United Democratic Front . The defendants included three senior UDF leaders, Frank Chikane, Mosiuoa Lekota and Popo Molefe, known as the "Big Three"...

     starts with the State vs Patrick Lekota and Popo Molefe
    Popo Molefe
    Popo Simon Molefe is a South African politician, and the former Premier of the North West Province....

  • Mimi Coertse
    Mimi Coertse
    Mimi Coertse , is a South African soprano.-Early life:Coertse, born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, matriculated at the Helpmekaar Girls High School in Johannesburg. She began vocal studies in South Africa in 1949. In July 1953 she married the broadcaster and composer Dawid Engela. She left South Africa...

     receives the Decoration for Meritorious Service in recognition of the contribution to the Arts
  • Bulelani Ngcuka
    Bulelani Ngcuka
    Bulelani 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 released from jail
  • Bulelani Ngcuka joins the human rights branch of International Labour Organisation in Geneva
    Geneva
    Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

    , Switzerland

Athletics

  • 4 May – Mark Plaatjes
    Mark Plaatjes
    Mark Plaatjes was the marathon champion at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics in Stuttgart.Born in South Africa under apartheid, Plaatjes won two national titles at the marathon and two at cross country...

     wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:08:58 in Port Elizabeth.

Motorsport

  • 19 October – The South African Grand Prix
    1985 South African Grand Prix
    The 1985 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 19, 1985 at the Kyalami Circuit in South Africa. It was the fifteenth and penultimate round of the 1985 Formula One season....

     is held at Kyalami
    Kyalami
    Kyalami 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...


Deaths

  • 3 May - Cythna Lindenberg Letty, a botanical artist
    Artist
    An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

     and author, dies in Pretoria
    Pretoria
    Pretoria 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...

  • 5 May - Sipho Mutsi (20), a Congress of South African Students member, dies in police custody
  • 6 May - Andries Raditsela (29), Congress of South African Trade Unions
    Congress of South African Trade Unions
    The Congress of South African Trade Unions is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the biggest of the country’s three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions, altogether organising 1.8 million workers.-Establishment:COSATU was established in...

     and Chemical Workers' Industrial Union member, dies of head injuries after being violently confronted by police
  • 14 May - Vernon Nkadimeng
    Vernon Nkadimeng
    Vernon Nkadimeng was a member of the African National Congress who was killed while in exile in Botswana by the apartheid secret police.-Life:...

    , is killed by a car bomb
    Car bomb
    A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...

     in Gaborone
    Gaborone
    ' is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 191,776 based on a 2006 survey, about 10% of the total population of Botswana....

    , Botswana
    Botswana
    Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

  • 14 June - Thamsanga Mnyele
    Thamsanga Mnyele
    Thamsanqa Mnyele was a South African artist associated with the anti-apartheid politics of the African National Congress and the Black Consciousness Movement. His artistic career took off in the 1970s when he produced works dealing with the emotional and human consequences of oppression...

    , artist
    Artist
    An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

     and activist, is killed during a South African Army
    South African Army
    The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...

     in Gaborone
  • August - Bill Mentoor, becomes the first person to be necklaced (a car tire filled with petrol and placed over a person's neck and set alight) in Queenstown, Eastern Cape
    Queenstown, Eastern Cape
    Queenstown, named after Queen Victoria, is a town in the middle of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, roughly half way in between the towns of Cathcart and Sterkstroom. It is currently the commercial, administrative, and educational centre of the prosperous surrounding farming district...

  • 15 December - Ruben Xulu, artist
    Artist
    An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

    , dies at Mariannhill
    Mariannhill
    Mariannhill is a little suburb near Pinetown in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa....

     outside Durban
    Durban
    Durban 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...

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