1978 in South Africa

See also: 1977 in South Africa, other events of 1978, 1979 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history.

---

Contents 1 Events 1.1 January 1.2 February 1.3 March 1.4 April 1.5 May 1.6 August 1.7 September 1.8 October 1.9 December 1.10 Unknown date 2 Sport 2.1 Motorsport 3 Births 4 Deaths

Events

January

• Former African National Congress member, Steve Mtshali who turned state witness in various trials is shot and wounded

February

• An unexploded bomb "capable of destroying a 22 storey building" is found in a Johannesburg office block and defused
• 2 February - Guerrillas attack the Daveyton police station
  • Kaiser Matanzima breaks all diplomatic ties with South Africa and announces that all South African Defence Force members seconded to the Transkei Army will leave Transkei by 31 March
  • The Attorney-General of the Eastern Cape states that he will not prosecute any police involved in the arrest and detention of Black Consciousness Movement leader Steve Biko

March

• 10 March - Bomb explodes outside the offices of the Bantu Affairs building in Port Elizabeth. One civilian is killed and three injured

April

• 14 April - Former deputy president of the African National Congress in the Transvaal, Abel Mthembu turns state witness at the Pretoria ANC trial

May

• 4 May - South African Defence Force airborne raid on Cassinga, Angola in the Operation Reindeer. See: Battle of Cassinga
  • Ishmael Mkhabela and Lybon Mabasa, two members of the Azanian People's Organisation are arrested in Soweto

August

• 21 August - Marais Viljoen becomes 5th State President of South Africa

September

• Black September episode - The African National Congress attempts to kill about 500 cadres by poisoning their food because an enemy agent had escaped the screening procedures and could not be identified.^{[citation needed]}
• 29 September - PW Botha succeeds Balthazar Johannes Vorster as 9th Prime Minister of South Africa

October

• Balthazar Johannes Vorster becomes 6th State President of South Africa

December

• December - Bomb explodes at the Soweto Community Council offices

Unknown date

• South African Defence Forces attack several South-West Africa People's Organisation bases in Angola during Operation Bruilof
• The South African Defence Force's South African 32 Battalion move into southern Angola to flush out South-West Africa People's Organisation members during Operation Seiljag
• George Bizos becomes a senior member of the Johannesburg Bar
• South Africa's Atomic Energy Corporation built South Africa's first nuclear weapon device

Sport

Motorsport

• 4 March - The South African Grand Prix, is held at Kyalami

Births

• 3 April – John Smit, Springboks rugby player and captain of the 2007 Rugby World Cup champions

Deaths

• Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum, legendary golfer, dies
• 8 January - Richard Turner, activist and academic, is shot dead at his Durban home
• 12 January - Monty Naicker, a medical doctor and prominent politician, dies in Durban
  • Philemon (Duma) Nokwe, the first African advocate of the Supreme Court of Transvaal and politician, dies
• 4 June - Benjamin John Peter Tyamzashe, Xhosa composer, choir conductor and organist, dies in East London

---

No comments have been added.

Your name:
City:
Country:	USA UK India Pakistan UAE Saudi Arabia Germany Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burund Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Rep Chad Chile China Columbia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic DR Congo Denmark Djiboutil Dominica Dominican Rep Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Eq Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Grenadines Guatemala Guinea Bissau Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Neth Antilles Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Rawanda Romania Russia Sao Tome Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Africa Spain Sri Lanka St Kitts_Nevis St Lucia Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvala UAE Uganda Ukraine Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Western Samoa Yemen Yugoslavia Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe
Your comments:
Security check * (Please enter the number into adjoining box)