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See also: 1980 in South Africa, other events of 1981, 1982 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history.

Events

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)

February

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 (Secunda CTL) in Secunda
• 26 October - Two policemen are killed during an attack on Sibasa Police station

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

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 an Umkhonto we Sizwe attack
• 26 December The Wonderboompoort Police station is attacked

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
• Due to urbanisation of the national railways, the South African Railways and Harbours changed its name to the South African Transport Services

Sport

Athletics

• 17 October – Mark Plaatjes wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:16:17 in Potchefstroom.

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

Births

• May 28 — Iain Evans, field hockey player

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