1988 in South Africa
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
See also: 1987 in South Africa, other events of 1988, 1989 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history.
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Events
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January
- 1 January - Nordic countries implement comprehensive sanctions against South Africa and South West Africa which are intended to counteract apartheid
- 25 January - Guerrillas wound a policeman when they open fire at a police roadblock set up at Ugie
- A Limpet mine explodes at the Kokstad Mens Club opposite the police station
- 27 January - Guerrillas open fire on a police vehicle in Soweto and injure three policemen and a civilian
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February
- 12 people are injured in a blast at Wits Medical Command administration building in Braamfontein, Johannesburg
- 1 February - Three guerrillas are killed and one injured at a police roadblock in Transkei
- 2 February - A guerrilla is killed in a skirmish with police near Mount Fletcher
- 6 February - A policeman is killed in attack at East London
- 12 February - Two municipal policemen, guarding a installation, are injured when they are attacked
- 12 February - A guerrilla opens fire on car driven by ex-Rhodesian soldier, now private security firm official, in Johannesburg
- 14 February - The South African Defence Force launch Operation Hooper
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March
- A electrical sub-station in Fort Jackson is damaged when three limpet mines explode
- 1 March - An explosion in Benoni causes extensive damage to bus transporting South African Air Force personnel
- 7 March - A guerrilla and a civilian is killed by police during a raid in Queenstown, six policemen are wounded in the raid
- 8 March - An attack on Phiri Hall police mess kills one policemen and wounds 10 others
- 12 March - A church-led opposition group headed by Desmond Tutu is banned
- 14 March - A bomb explodes at Johannesburg City Hall with no injuries
- 17 March - Mohammed Ichbahl and Aboobaker Ismail set up two bombs at the Krugersdorp magistrate’s court adjacent to the local police station, the first to serve as a decoy and the second, a car bomb, directed at security force personnel but, "unfortunately the decoy failed to explode, due to some malfunction". The car bomb explodes killing two South African Defence Force personnel and a civilian. Twenty other people were injured. Hein Grosskopf was tried and convicted for the incident.
- 18 March - Guerrillas attack a tavern in Atteridgeville frequented by policemen; three policemen are killed in the attack
- 25 March - Three guerrillas are killed at Batavia in the far northern Transvaal, by the South African Army
- 27 March - The Antheas Club in Polokwane (previously known as Pietersburg) is slightly damaged by a limpet mine which exploded in the back garden
- 28 March - Four guerrillas are killed and one injured by the South African Army on a island on Mutale river
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April
- A bomb explodes at Johannesburg City Hall with no injuries
- 4 April - The South African Special Forces Brigade raid what they believed to be a African National Congress hideout in Gaborone, Botswana killing 4 innocent people
- 7 April - A car bomb explodes in Maputo, Mozambique injuring Albie Sachs, an anti-apartheid lawyer
- 9 April - A limpet mine explodes near the Atteridgeville Development Board's canteen
- 12 April - In a Mpumalanga township, police corner a guerrilla who then killed himself and two policemen with a grenade. Police later kill a second guerrilla, a policeman is killed and three civilians wounded in the crossfire
- 15 April - A limpet mine explodes at the Atteridgeville Municipal offices
- A bomb explodes prematurely outside Pretoria's Sterland cinema killing the carrier and injuring a bystander. According to an African National Congress official, the intended target was a nearby government building
- 19 April An explosion at a private office block less than 100m from Parliament damages a branch of Santam bank
- 22 April - A guerrilla ambushes a municipal police vehicle and wounds four policemen and one civilian in Soweto
- 25 April A policeman, Sgt JM Mazibuku, is killed at bus stop in Newcastle
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May
- 1 May - A special guard unit vehicle is attacked in Cape Town with no injuries
- 3-6 May - An ILO tripartite Conference on Action Against Apartheid is held in Harare, Zimbabwe
- 4 May - A limpet mine explodes against wall of the Kagiso Police single quarters
- Representatives of South Africa, United States of America, Angola and Cuba meet in London to search for a solution to the Angolan war and independence for Namibia
- 4 May - A limpet mine explodes against wall of the Kagiso Police single quarters
- 10 May - A child is killed when a grenade is thrown at a policeman's home in Mamelodi
- 14 May - A guerrilla is killed when police raids his home in Newcastle
- 24 May - At the Germiston railway station, a guerrilla opens fire policemen and is killed when the police returned fire; three civilians were injured in crossfire
- 25 May - Two people are killed and 38 injured when a Sofasonke Party rally in Soweto comes under a grenade attack. The African National Congress denies knowledge and blames "armed political renegades"
- 26 May - A limpet mine detonates during lunch hour outside African Eagle Building in Pretoria, injuring four people from the Ruth Arndt Early Learning Centre
- 28 May - A Explosive device explodes at the bottom of platform staircase at the Johannesburg railway station and injures 1 person
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June
- A bomb explodes near Soweto's Inhlanzani station with no injuries
- A mini-limpet mine explodes at a Pretoria snack bar injuring 18 people
- 3 June - An explosion occurs at the South African Irish Regiment HQ in Anderson Street, Johannesburg
- A bomb explodes during lunch hour outside Standard Bank in Roodepoort, killing four and injuring eighteen civilians. According to an African National Congress official the target had not been civilians but an police station nearby and have no details on what operational difficulties caused this incident.
- 5 June - A bomb is detonated while a train was standing at Saulsville railway station
- 20 June - A Ciskei policeman, W/O Swelindawo is injured in explosion at his home in
Mdanstane
- 22 June - Ten people are killed when a limet mine explodes at an amusement arcade in Winning Side Arcade in Johannesburg
- 26 June - A limpet mine is discovered and defused at Papagallo Restaurant in East London
- 29 June - A bomb kills two South African Defence Force, two Prisons personnel and 13 civilians when it explodes at a cafe in Poynton building
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July
- Trevor Manuel is released from detention
- Bulelani Ngcuka is detained for organising the Nelson Mandela birthday
- An explosion outside home of member of Presidents Council, Dr Ismail Jajbhay in Lenasia occurs with no injuries
- 2 July - A car bomb, set by Harold Matshididi and Billy Agie Shoke, explodes near the gate of Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg and two people are killed and thirty-seven injured
- 5 July - A guerrilla is killed by police in a raid in Gugulethu
- 12 July - Landmine incident - no details
- 14 July - The South African Army tracks and kills four guerrillas in the Kruger National Park following the 12 July landmine incident
- 16 July - A guerrilla opens fire at a police vehicle in Nyanga killing a bystander. Police return fire and the cadre is wounded
- 17 July - A guerrilla opens fire on a police vehicle from back of pickup while travelling on the highway near Soweto. Two policemen are injured
- 20 July - A major battle between the South African Defence Force and Cuban forces start near Calueque, Angola
- 22 July - A grenade is thrown at the home of BE Qakisa, the Soweto Council personnel manager
- 23 July - A guerrilla is wounded by police in Pinetown
- 26 July - Three grenade attacks on homes of Administration Board employees( P. Legare, Naledi and Gumede) in Soweto
- 29 July - One person is injured when a limpet mine explodes at a Bus stop on the corner of Victoria and Odendaal Streets in Germiston
- 30 July - One person is killed and 57 injured when a limet mine explodes at lunch time at Wimpy (resturant) in Benoni
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August
- A mini-limpet mine explodes at the Westville Post Office
- 3 August - A car bomb explodes outside the Wits Command, Johannesburg with no injuries
- Five guerrillas are killed in two incidents in the Bridgewater area
- 4 August - A guerrilla is killed and one escapes in a police raid near the Wild Coast Sun hotel in Transkei
- 5 August - A limpet mine is discovered and safely detonated at the Morula Sun Casino
- 13 August - An explosion at the Hyde Park Shopping Centre, Johannesburg injures three people
- 19 August - A mini-limpet mine explodes within the Castle grounds in Cape Town
- 20 August - A grenade is thrown at the home of mayor, Eddie Makeba in Duncan Village
- 23 August - An explosion at lunch hour injures 23 people at the Wimpy (resturant) on Oxford Street, East London
- 24 August - A limpet mine is discovered outside the Wimpy in Standerton and safely detonated
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September
- Trevor Manuel is detained for the third time and this time he is released only in 1989
- A bomb goes off at the Laudium home of a Pretoria municipal election candidate
- Three limpet mines in Lenasia explode at the offices of the Lenasia bus service, at the home of the Lenasia Management Committee and the offices of the House of Delegates
- A bomb explodes at the King Williamstown Magistrates Court
- A mini-limpet mine explodes at the Woodstock Police Station
- A child is injured when the home of a municipal policeman attacked in Soweto
- A bomb explodes at a discotheque in Hillbrow injuring 19 people
- A limpet mine explosion at Vinderbijl Square bus terminus in Johannesburg injures 19 people
- A hand grenade is thrown from a moving car at home of Allan Hendrickse, leader of the Labour Party
- A bomb under a car in parking lot of a East London hotel explodes after area cleared
- 2 September - Limpet mines are discovered and defused at the Standerton post office
- Two people are injured when a limpet mine explodes at 17h30 outside a shop on the corner of Smith and Fenton Streets in Durban
- 3 September - A guerrilla is killed and four policemen are injured in Molweni, Durban
- 7 September - An explosion in the basement of North Park Plaza Shopping Centre kills one person
- 8 September - A grenade is thrown into the home of couple who did not join a strike (Mr and Mrs Modiko) and injures a child
- 10 September - An explosion at the Moroka Police Station barracks
- A mini-limpet placed under basin next to back door of a Lenasia HOD candidate, Mrs Ebrahim; explodes
- 19 September - A car bomb explodes outside flats in Benoni, 100m from the Police station; two civilians are injured
- 21 September - An explosion after 17h00 injures 14 people at the Vanderbijlpark bus terminal
- 22 September - An explosion at the home of a municipal election candidate SD Goolam injures four policemen, two guards and a civilian
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October
- A bomb explodes at the Redhill Post Office in Durban with no injuries
- A bomb damages the campaign HQ of a Wentworth municipal candidate in Durban
- Municipal councillor and assistant escape injury when hand grenades are thrown at them in Thokoza
- An explosion at KwaThema civic centre which is used as polling point in municipal elections kills a baby killed and injures four people
- Explosions occur at three magistrates courts, Wynberg (Johannesburg), Bishop Lavis, and Stellenbosch with no injuries reported at all three
- A bomb causes damage to Woodstock Police Station
- Four policemen are injured when a limpet mine explodes at Tembisa police barracks
- A limpet mine which explodes near the Alexandra Municipal Police offices in Johannesburg causes extensive damage
- The homes of municipal candidates in Wattville and Thokoza are attacked with hand grenades
- A mini-limpet mine explodes at the Katlehong Municipal Police barracks
- A bomb explodes in a building housing the Police Security Branch in Potchefstroom
- A limpet mine explodes at a Sandton sub-station belonging to Eskom
- A mini-limpet mine damages offices in Diepmeadow
- A limpet mine explodes at central Johannesburg bus terminus injuring four people
- A car bomb explosion outside a Witbank shopping centre kills two people and injures 42
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November
- A limpet mine explodes at the Port Elizabeth Post Office
- An explosion at Lenasia civic centre; no injuries
- An explosion damages section of railway line on outskirts of Durban
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December
- A limpet mine explodes at the Receiver of Revenue offices in Boksburg
- A limpet mine explodes at the Department of Home Affairs offices in Brakpan
- Bombs explode at the magistrates court in Paarl
- Two explosions in Bisho result in damage to garage and shop
- 22 December South Africa, Angola and Cuba sign a tripartite agreement at UN headquarters in New York requiring the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola and the granting of independence to Namibia by South Africa.
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Unknown date
- The Progressive Federal Party merged with the newly founded National Democratic Movement and the Independent Party into the Democratic Party
- Bulelani Ngcuka is elected onto the panel of the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa
- PJ Powers is banned from radio and TV for a year
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Births
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Deaths
- 29 March - Dulcie September, is assassinated in Paris
- 12 April - Alan Paton dies in his home near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
