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See also: 1987 in South Africa, other events of 1988, 1989 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history.

Events

January

• 1 January - Nordic countries implement comprehensive sanctions against South Africa and South West Africa which are intended to counteract apartheid
• 10 January - 6 African National Congress guerrillas are injured in a car bomb explosion in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
• 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 Men's Club opposite the police station
• 27 January - guerrillas open fire on a police vehicle in Soweto and injure three policemen and a civilian

February

• 12 people are injured in a bomb 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
• 3 February - The Congress of South African Trade Unions offices in Pietermaritzburg come unter attack by a mob armed with pangas and Assegais.
• 6 February - A policeman is killed in attack at East London
• 10 February - Rocky Malebane-Metsing leads a group of dissatisfied members of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force and the National Executive Committee of the People's Progressive Party to stage a coup d'état in the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana
• 12 February - Two municipal policemen, guarding an installation, are injured when they are attacked by guerrillas
  • - 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

March

• An 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 by guerrillas 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. South African police accused Hein Grosskopf of the attack, and acknowledged later that he had not been responsible.
• 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 an island on Mutale river

April

• A bomb explodes at Johannesburg City Hall with no injuries
• 4 April – The South African Special Forces Brigade raid an African National Congress terrorist hideout in Gaborone, Botswana killing four ANC guerrillas
• 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 kills 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 guerrillas, the intended target was a nearby government building
• 19 April – An explosion at a private office block less than 100 m 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 by guerrillas

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
• 10 May - A child is killed when a grenade is thrown at a policeman's home in Mamelodi by guerrillas
• 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 - An explosive device explodes at the bottom of platform staircase at the Johannesburg railway station and injures 1 person

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 guerrilla the target had not been civilians but a police station nearby and refuses to give 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 limpet 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
• 27 June - Cuban MiG 23 jet fighters attack the Calueque Water Scheme - twelve South African soldiers die after a direct hit by bomb.
• 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

July

• 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
• 7 July - Trevor Manuel, Ebrahim Rasool, Mountrain Qumbela, Hilda Ndude and Mzonke Jacobsis are released from detention
• 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
  • Violence erupts between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress in Richmond
• 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, KwaZulu-Natal
• 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 limpet mineplanted by ANC guerrillas explode at lunch time at Wimpy (restaurant) in Benoni

August

• A mini-limpet mine explodes at the Westville Post Office near Durban
• 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 (restaurant) on Oxford Street, East London
• 24 August - A limpet mine is discovered outside the Wimpy in Standerton and safely detonated

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 an 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, 100 m 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

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

November

• 15 November - "Wit Wolf" Barend Strydom kills eight black passers by in Strijdom Square in Pretoria
• 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

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
• (About the 12 December) - Pik Botha, Foreign Minister, and Magnus Malan, Defence Minister, sign a peace protocol with Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, and with Angolan and Cuban signatories in Brazzaville. The protocol ends South Africa's 73 year old administration of South West Africa
• 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.

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
• Rhodes University, Grahamstown establishes South Africa's first e-mail link to the Internet

Sport

Athletics

• 30 April – Willie Mtolo wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:10:18 in Cape Town.

Births

Deaths

• Queen Nolitha of Ixhiba, the 4th wife of Xolilizwe Mzikayise Sigcawu dies
• 8 January - Jacob Molokwane, an activist, is shot dead in his car in Francistown, Botswana
• 17 January - Percy Qoboza, journalist, author and critic of the apartheid government, dies on his 50th birthday after a short illness
• 29 January - Linda Brakvis, a United Democratic Front member, is found stabbed 3 days after her release from detention
• 29 March - Dulcie September, is assassinated in Paris
• 12 April - Alan Paton dies in his home near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal