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See also: 1983 in South Africa, other events of 1984, 1985 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history.

Events

January

• 4 January - A guerrilla is killed in Mamelodi
• 8 January - The South African Defence Force begins withdrawal from southern Angola

February

• 3 February - A bomb destroys the offices of the Ciskei consulate in Durban
• 23 February - A Escom installation in Georgetown is slightly damaged by explosion
• 29 February - Two bombs explode at Mandini, one at a sub-station and the other at the police station

March

• 11 March - The Mobil fuel depot in Ermelo is rocked by four explosions, five storage tanks are destroyed by guerrillas
• 12 March - During a skirmish with guerrillas, two policemen are seriously injured
• 16 March - South Africa and Mozambique sign the Nkomati Accord, a nonagression treaty, at Komatipoort
• 23 March - Dorothy Nyembe is released from Kroonstad Prison after serving 15 years for defeating the end of justice by harbouring members of Umkhonto we Sizwe

April

• A guerrilla is killed in De Deur
• 3 April - A car bomb explodes on the Victoria Embankment, Durban, killing three people and injuring 20 others. Daya Rengasami, a member of the SA Students Organisation and his wife Navi is killed in the blast. The African National Congress denies responsibility. Rajbansi said he believed his offices nearby had been the intended target of the bomb.
• 5 April - The Transkei consulate in Botshabelo is destroyed by a bomb

May

• The Pango mutiny occurred when mutineers systematically killed most camp administration members of a Umkhonto we Sizwe training camp in Angola
• 2 May - South Africa, Mozambique and Portugal sign an agreement in Cape Town on the supply of electricity to South Africa from the Cahora Bassa Hydro-electric Dam in north-west Mozambique
• 5 May - Over 7,000 people attend an Afrikaner Volkswag rally in Pretoria
• 12 May - A bomb explodes at the Trust Bank in Durban
• 13 May - Mobil Oil Refinery in Durban comes under RPG-7 attack by Umkhonto we Seize cadres. All the guerrillas were killed afterwards in a running battle with police
• 16 May - An explosion destroys two private vehicles, belonging to policemen, outside the Jabulani Police station, Soweto
• 18 May - the railway line near Lenasia is damaged by an explosion
• 29 May - Pieter Willem Botha, State President of South Africa and Pik Botha, minister for foreign affairs, visit Austria, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and West Germany

June

• 21 June - A explosion damages a sub-station in Berea, Durban and disrupts electricity supply

July

• 9 July - South Africa signs the amendment of the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
• 12 July - One policeman is killed and one is injured when their vehicle is attacked in Jabulani
• 28 July - South Africa Railways Police charge office in KwaMashu, Durban is attacked with hand grenades

August

• 3 August - A guerrilla is killed in the Ellisras area
• 7 August - Tshabalala Dry Cleaners in Soweto is extensively damaged by Umkhonto we Sizwe

- An Escom sub-station is destroyed in Glenmore, Durban

• 12 August - The Department of Internal Affairs of Johannesburg is hit by an explosion that causes minor damage
• 16 August - Two Limpet mines destroy the second and third floors of the building houseing the "South African Police HQ Soweto East" in Roodepoort. The explosion injure the District Commander, four policemen and two civilians causing R260,000 worth of damage
• 17 August - A guerrilla is killed resisting arrest in Mapetla
• 23 August - Explosions at 18h30 destroy 4th floor offices belonging to the government buildings in Booysens, Johannesburg
• 24 August - A bomb explodes at 17h30 in Anchor Life Building in Johannesburg. The explosion destroys the South African Railways Police Regional offices and the Department of Internal Affairs offices

September

• 3 September - A Limpet mine placed by Mohammed Iqbal Shaik explodes at 16h07 at the Department of Internal Affairs in Johannesburg; Pieter Willem Botha becomes the 8th State President of South Africa
• 5 September - An explosion destroys an Escom sub-station at Rustenburg and disrupts power to Rustenburg and a large area of Bophutatswana
• 13 September - A Limpet mine causes damage to a Durban sub-station
• 14 September - A bomb explodes at 17h00 at the Department of Community Development in Krugersdorp

October

• 8 October - South Africa, Mozambique and Renamo hold talks in Pretoria to end the civil war in Mozambique
• 16 October - Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

December

• 11 December - A section of railway line near Durban is damaged by an explosion, a goods train is also damaged
• 14 December - A guerrilla is killed and a policeman is injured in a skirmish in Ingwavuma
• 18 December - Pik Botha, South African foreign minister and Siad Barre, President of Somalia, hold talks in Mogadishu
• 25 December - Another guerrilla is killed in Ingwavuma

Unknown Date

• The government imposes a state of emergency which is only lifted 6 years later

Sport

Athletics

• 31 March – Ernest Seleke wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:09:41 in Port Elizabeth.

Motorsport

• 7 April - The South African Grand Prix is held at Kyalami

Births

Deaths

• 30 January - Patrick McCall, member of the Stander gang, is killed by police in a raid on the gang's hide-out in Houghton, Johannesburg
• 18 May - Peter Becker, writer, ethnologist and advertising executive, dies after being hit by a car near Florence, Arizona
• 28 June - Jeannette Schoon, and her 6-year daughter, Katryn, are killed by a letter bomb at Lubango, Angola
• Bernard Gcwensa, artist, dies of tuberculosis at the Hiabisa mission station near St Lucia