1989 in South Africa

Incumbents

• State President: P. W. Botha (until 15 August), F. W. de Klerk (starting 15 August)

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 of South Africa P.W. Botha has 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 Benoni of 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 Botha steps 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.

May

• 5 – Three South African Embassy staff are ordered to leave Britain within 7 days because of the attempted smuggling of a Blowpipe missile.
• 17 – Tumelo Faith Sindane is born at Zebediela.
• The South African Air Force's Klippan Radar Station in the Western Transvaal comes under mortar attack.

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 – PW Botha, State President of South Africa, and Nelson Mandela, in prison at the time, meet for the first time.
• 23 – A explosive device planted at Athlone Magistrate's Court and police complex, detonated prematurely killing two African National Congress members ^[1]

August

• 10 – The Cabinet prevails on P.W. Botha to resign as state president and FW de Klerk becomes acting State President of South Africa.
• 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 – "Purple Rain Protest" rioters in Greenmarket Square, Cape Town are sprayed with a purple dye. The resulting graffiti, "The purple shall govern" graces the pages of newspapers worldwide.
• 20 – Acting state president FW de Klerk becomes the 9th State President of South Africa.

• A police patrol is ambushed by cadres 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

• A bomb explodes outside the BP centre in Cape Town and at Woodstock minutes later.

November

• 27 – The Hex River Tunnels system is officially opened. The system's longest tunnel is 13.5 kilometres (8.4 miles) long, the longest railway tunnel in Africa.^[2][3]

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.

Deaths

• 1 May – David Webster, an academic at the University of the Witwatersrand and an anti-apartheid activist, is shot dead outside his home in Eleanor Street, Troyeville, Johannesburg.
• 12 September – Anton Lubowski, advocate and secretary-general of the South West Africa People's Organization, is shot dead outside his home in Windhoek, South West Africa.

Railways

Locomotives

• A Class NG G16 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt articulated steam locomotive is rebuilt to Class NG G16A by the Alfred County Railway.^{[4][5]:109–110}
• The South African Railways places the first of twenty-five Class 10E2 electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in mainline service.^[6][7]

Sports

Athletics

• 25 February – Willie Mtolo wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:13:13 in Port Elizabeth.

References