1981 in South Africa

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1 Events
2 Sport
- 2.1 Football (Rugby Union)
3 Births
4 Deaths

[edit] Events

[edit] January

30 January - The South African Defence Force launch Operation Beanbag and raid a suspected Umkhonto we Sizwe safe area in the suburb of Matola, Maputo, Mozambique, killing 12 - 24 people (numbers reported killed vary)

[edit] February

Two people are injured when a bomb explodes in a Durban shopping centre

[edit] April

14 April - A section of railway line between Richards Bay and Vryheid is destroyed by Umkhonto we Sizwe and coal trucks derailed
16 April - Bishop Desmond Tutu is arrested and his passport is confiscated
21 April - Limpet mines explode and destroy two transformers at a sub-station in Durban

[edit] May

6 May - The railway in the Hoedspruit area is damaged
14 May - The United Nations General Assembly publishes a blacklist of 65 multi-national companies and some 270 sports persons who have links with South Africa
21 May - A bomb explodes and damages the Port Elizabeth rail link to Johannesburg and Cape Town
25 May - A series of actions in support of Republic Day protests are claimed by Umkhonto we Sizwe

- A pamphlet bomb explodes in Durban

- The Fort Jackson Police station is attacked

- The railway line near Soweto is damaged

- The railway line on the Natal South Coast is damaged

- The power lines are cut in Vrede

27 May - A bomb explodes in Durban destroying a South African Defence Force recruiting building

[edit] June

1 June - Three offices of the Progressive Federal Party are firebombed in Johannesburg with no injuries
4 June - The police station in Meyerton is attacked by terrorists or freedom fighters
11 June - The railway line on the Natal North coast is maliciously damaged
16 June - The railway line near East London is maliciously damaged
26 June - Two bombs exploded at the Durban Cenotaph
28 June - The railway near Empangeni is maliciously damaged
30 June - Zwelakhe Sisulu, son of Walter Sisulu and President of the Black Media Workers Association of South Africa, is arrested under the Internal Security Act

[edit] July

3 July - A limpet mine found at the fuel storage yard in Alberton is defused
21 July - Six bomb explosions at sub-stations in Pretoria, Middelburg, and Ermelo disrupt power supply
26 July - Two bombs exploded at 05:50 and 06:10 in central Durban. Three people are injured and extensive damage is caused to motor vehicle firms

[edit] August

6 August - A bomb explodes in an East London shopping complex minutes before rush hour
8 August - A bomb explodes in a Port Elizabeth shopping centre in similar manner to East London bomb
11 August - The Voortrekkerhoogte Military Base outside Pretoria is attacked with RPG-7s. Two British citizens, Nicolas Heath and Bonnie Lou Muller, are identified as accomplices in the assault
19 August - The railway line near East London is maliciously damaged
23 August - South African Defence Forces attack South-West Africa People's Organisation bases in Xangongo and Ongiva, southern Angola during Operation Protea

[edit] September

2 September - Two policemen and two civilians (one a child) are killed during an attack on Mabopane Police station
12 September - Bomb damages main railway line at Delville Wood near Durban

[edit] October

10 October - Umkhonto we Sizwe attack government offices of the Department of Co-operation and Development, Four injuries
21 October - Umkhonto we Sizwe destroy a transformer in Evander and a water pipeline feeding Sasol III in Secunda
26 October - Two policemen are killed during an attack on Sibasa Police station

[edit] November

1 November - The Jeppes Reef House near the Swaziland border, which is occupied by the South African Defence Force, comes under RPG-7 attack
- South African Defence Forces attack South-West Africa People's Organisation bases in Chitequeta, south-eastern Angola during Operation Daisy
9 November - A bomb explodes at the Orlando Magistrates Court in Soweto
12 November - Rosslyn sub-station in Pretoria is damage by 4 limpet mines
27 November - Cedric Mayson, a former Methodist minister, is arrested

[edit] December

9 December - The offices of Chief Commissioner of the Department of Co-operation and Development in Cape Town is attacked
14 December - A Pretoria sub-station is bombed
23 December - Eastern Cape provincial buildings in Duncan Village is damaged in a Umkhonto we Sizwe attack
26 December The Wonderboompoort Police station is attacked

[edit] Unknown date

Trevor Manuel becomes the General Secretary of the Cape Areas Housing Action Committee
Bulelani Ngcuka is detained by police for eight months
A Security Police counter-insurgency unit is started by Dirk Coetzee, Jan Viktor and Jac Buchner at Vlakplaas with 16 police officers

[edit] Sport

[edit] Football (Rugby Union)

30 May - The South Africa (Springboks) beat Ireland 23-15
6 June - The Springboks beat Ireland 12-10
14 August-The South Africa (Springboks) play a tour in New Zealand with large protests

[edit] Births

[edit] Deaths

11 August - Sizwe Khondile, a student activist is killed at Komatipoort by the Vlakplaas counter-insurgency unit
November - Durban lawyer Griffiths Mxenge is killed by the Vlakplaas counter-insurgency unit

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Categories: Years in South Africa | 1981 by country