1989 in South Africa
Decades: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
See also: |
The following lists events that happened during 1989 in South Africa.
Incumbents
- State President:
- P.W. Botha (until 15 August).[1]
- F.W. de Klerk (acting from 15 August, incumbent from 20 September).[1]
- Pieter Jacobus Rabie.
Events
- January
- 8 – The African National Congress announces that it will start dismantling its guerrilla camps in Angola in support of the peace process.
- 18 – State President P.W. Bothahas a mild stroke.
- 19 – Chris Heunis, Minister of Constitutional Development and Planning, is appointed Acting State President.
- An Eskom sub-station in Glenwood, Durban is damaged by an explosion and police later defuses a second bomb found nearby.
- An explosion occurs at the home in Benoniof the chair of the Ministers Council in the House of Delegates.
- An explosion occurs at an aircraft factory in Ciskei.
- Two municipal police members are killed in a grenade attack on Katlehong's Municipal Police Station.
- February
- 2 – An ailing State President Pieter Willem Bothasteps down from the leadership of the National Party, but remains state president.
- Trevor Manuel is released from detention under stringent restriction orders.
- An explosion at a municipal police barracks in Soweto injures four policemen.
- An explosion next to a police parade in Katlehong kills a municipal constable and injures nine others.
- A limpet mine explodes at the home of the commander of the Katlehong Police Station, Col. D. Dlamini.
- March
- 15–21 – A conference of African National Congress chief representatives and regional treasurers takes place in Gran, Norway.
- An explosion occurs outside the Natal Command HQ on Durban's beachfront.
- April
- 2 – SWAPO violates the border war cease-fire by invading South West Africa from Angola and nearly 300 are killed.
- May
- 5 – Three South African Embassy staff are ordered to leave Britain within 7 days because of the attempted smuggling of a Blowpipe missile.
- The
- June
- Four bystanders are injured when a limpet mine explodes under a police vehicle in Duduza.
- A limpet mine explodes under a vehicle parked outside a policeman's home in Tsakane.
- A grenade is thrown at a police patrol in Tsakane.
- A limpet mine explodes in a rubbish bin outside the home of a policeman in Soweto.
- A bomb shatters the windows of KwaThema Police station's dining hall.
- A limpet mine explodes at the Police single quarters in Ratanda.
- A limpet mine explodes at the home of Boetie Abramjee, a National Party MP.
- July
- 5 – State President P.W. Botha and Nelson Mandela, in prison at the time, meet for the first time.
- 23 – An explosive device planted at Athlone Magistrate's Court and police complex detonates prematurely, killing two African National Congress members.[3]
- August
- 15 – P.W. Botha resigns and F.W. de Klerk succeeds him as acting State President.[1]
- A grenade is thrown into a Labour Party polling station in Bishop Lavis.
- The Brixton Flying Squad HQ is attacked with hand grenades and AK-47s.
- Lt-Col. Frank Zwane, a former liaison officer for the police, and his two sons are injured in a grenade attack in Soweto.
- An explosion occurs at the Athlone Police Station.
- September
- 2 – The purple shall govern" graces the pages of newspapers worldwide.
- 20 – F.W. de Klerk becomes the 9th State President of South Africa.[1]
- A police patrol is ambushed by cadres (terrorists) in Katlehong.
- A mini-limpet mine explodes outside the Mamelodi Police station.
- Parliamentary elections are held and the National Party wins again.
- 100,000 people attend a peace march called by Cape Town city mayor Gordon Oliver in conjunction with religious leaders.
- October
- 15 – Robben Islandand other prisons.
- A bomb explodes outside the BP centre in Cape Town and another at Woodstock minutes later.[4]
- November
- 27 – The Hex River Tunnels system is officially opened. The system's longest tunnel at 13.5 kilometres (8.4 miles) long is the longest railway tunnel in Africa.[5][6]
- 30 – Judgement was handed down by the Appellate Division under Chief Judge Michael Corbett in the Administrator, Cape, v Ntshwaqelacase.
- Unknown date
- The Hluhluwe and Umfolozi Game Reserves are joined through the Corridor Reserve as the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve.
- The government starts dismantling its six nuclear fission devices.
Births
- 15 January – Akhumzi Jezile, actor, television presenter and producer (d. 2018)
- 15 January – Kylie Louw, footballer
- 21 January – Brady Barends, cricketer
- 4 February – Nkosi Johnson, HIV/AIDS (d. 2001)
- 10 February – Simon Harmer, cricketer
- 22 February – JJ Engelbrecht, rugby player
- 24 February – Lauren Brant; Australian entertainer
- 9 March – Carina Horn, sprinter
- 9 March – Luthando Shosha, tv presenter & radio personality
- 22 March – Coenie Oosthuizen, rugby player
- 24 March – Jennifer Fry, badminton player
- 4 April – Dane Paterson, cricketer
- 13 April – Gerhard van den Heever, rugby union player
- 28 April – Alistair Vermaak, rugby union player
- 4 May – Trevor Nyakane, rugby player
- 11 May – Ashleigh Buhai, golfer
- 14 May – Melinda Bam, beauty pageant contestant and model
- 2 June – Dean Burmester, golfer
- 10 June – David Miller, cricketer
- 18 July – Mandla Masango, football player
- 25 July – Victor Hogan, discus thrower
- 26 July – Ross Cronjé, rugby union player
- 30 July – Wayne Parnell, cricketer
- 2 August – Vanes-Mari Du Toit, netball player
- 2 August – Rudy Paige, rugby player
- 3 August – Themba Zwane, football player
- 5 August – Darren Keet, footballer
- 9 August – Lunga Shabalala, actor & tv personality.
- 18 August – Willie le Roux, rugby player
- 13 September – Jurgen Visser, rugby union player
- 15 September – Nandipha Magudumana, celebrity doctor
- 4 October – Madoda Yako, rugby union player
- 9 October – Rilee Rossouw, cricketer
- 25 October – Lejeanne Marais, figure skater
- 6 November – Cherise Taylor, road cyclist
- 18 December – South africa national football teamcaptain
- 25 December – Pat O'Brien, rugby union player
- 29 December – Sibusiso Vilakazi, football player
Deaths
- 1 May – David Webster, academic and activist. (b. 1944)
- 22 May – Steven De Groote, classical pianist. (b. 1953)
- 12 September – Anton Lubowski, advocate and secretary-general of SWAPO. (b. 1952)
Railways
Locomotives
- A Class NG G16 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt locomotive is rebuilt to Class NG G16A by the Alfred County Railway.[7][8]
- The South African Railways places the first of twenty-five Class 10E2 electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in mainline service.[9][10]
Sports
Athletics
- 25 February – Port Elizabeth.
References
- ^ a b c d Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Heads of State: 1961-1994 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
- ^ "Suspected ANC guerrillas attack radar base". UPI. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ Blast Opposite Athlone Magistrate’s Court and Police Complex Kills Two.
- ^ Knight, Robin. "BP in SA in the final decade of apartheid - OPINION". www.politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ South African Panorama, October 1989, p. 25
- ^ "The World's longest tunnel page - Railway Tunnels". www.lotsberg.net. Archived from the original on 3 November 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Information supplied by Phil Girdlestone
- ISBN 0869772112.
- ^ South African Railways Index and Diagrams Electric and Diesel Locomotives, 610mm and 1065mm Gauges, Ref LXD 14/1/100/20, 28 January 1975, as amended
- ^ Middleton, John N. (2002). Railways of Southern Africa Locomotive Guide - 2002 (as amended by Combined Amendment List 4, January 2009) (2nd, Dec 2002 ed.). Herts, England: Beyer-Garratt Publications. pp. 49–52, 60.