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See also: 2002 in South Africa, other events of 2003, 2003 in South African sport, 2004 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history.

Events

January

• 17 January, Jacob Zuma, Deputy President of South Africa hold ceasefire talks with Pierre Nkurunziza, the leader of a faction of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD)
• 21 January - Jacob Zuma, hold ceasefire talks with Alain Mugabarabona, the leader of the Palipehutu-FNL and Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, the leader of the other faction of CNDD-FDD
• 24 January - The Inkwazi (the South African Air Force Boeing Business Jet) while on a flight taking President Thabo Mbeki to Paris, France develops technical problems during its inaugural flight and had to turn back
• 25-26 January - Jacob Zuma facilitates meetings between Pierre Buyoya, the

President of Burundi and rebels Alain Mugabarabona, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye and Pierre Nkurunziza in Pretoria

• 27 January - Pierre Buyoya, the President of Burundi and Pierre Nkurunziza, leader of a faction of the CNDD-FDD of sign a memorandum of understanding in Pretoria

March

• 21 March - The Truth and Reconciliation Commission releases its final report

April

• 1 April - The defence ministers of South Africa, Ethiopia and Mozambique announce in Addis Ababa that their countries will send 3,500 peacekeeping troops to Burundi within 60 days under the African Union flag
  • An South African Air Force Cheetah C fighter jet crashes near Louis Trichardt, pilot Major Andrea Serra, ejected safely

May

• 13 May - The Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang presents her budget speech to the National Assembly outlining that free health care will be extended to people with disabilities

June

• PJ Powers and Sibongile Khumalo is awarded the 2002 Reconciliation Award by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation
• The name of the town Louis Trichardt to changed to Makhado
• 5 June - An South African Air Force Denel Oryx helicopter crash lands at Durban International Airport and the crew suffer only minor injuries
• 6 June - Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Celso Amorim and Yashwant Sinha foreign ministers of South Africa, Brazil and India, met in Brasilia, Brazil and sign the Brasilia Declaration

August

• 3 - 6 August - A National AIDS Conference is held in Durban
• 14 August - South Africa signs for four Super Lynx helicopters for operation from the new naval corvettes
• 28 August - Three parachuted pallets dropped by a South African Air Force Casa 212 during a training mission are blown off course and land into a residential suburb of Gauteng causing mior damage

September

• 7 - 17 September - The 5th World Parks Congress is held in Durban

October

• 2 October - The first South African Air Force BAE Hawk 120 (serial 250) makes its maiden flight at BAE Systems’ Warton, Fylde
• 7 October - The South African Justice Ministry officials announced that the five policemen who were accused of killing Steve Biko in 1977 would not be prosecuted because of insufficient evidence
• 8 October - Domitien Ndayizeye, President of Burundi and Pierre Nkurunziza, the leader of a faction of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) sign an agreement to integrate the armed forces, the police and intelligence services of Burundi, in Pretoria under the facilitation of Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa and Jacob Zuma, Deputy President of South Africa
• 15-18 October - Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa, hold bilateral talks with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India while on a state visit to India
• 17 October - The first South African Air Force BAE Hawk 120 (serial 250) arrives in South Africa inside an Antonov An-22
• 19 October - The South African Competitions Commission finds two giant pharmaceutical companies, GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals guilty of price fixing anti-retroviral drugs

November

• 12 November - A South African Air Force Impala MKI jet trainer crashes next to the N4 highway between Nelspruit and Komatipoort. Both pilots, Lieutenant Paul Martin and Lieutenant Gert Duvenhage, while trying to do an emergency landing on the highway, aborted to avoid an oncoming truck and ejected but were both killed (one hitting the truck).

December

• 11 December - The Sea Point, Cape Town home of Asher Karni, an Israeli and South African businessman who is alleged to have supplied nuclear technology to Pakistan, is raided by police

Unknown date

• Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum receives a posthumous achievement award from President Thabo Mbeki

Sport

Athletics

• The annual national marathon championships are not held

Births

Deaths