Misplaced Pages

← 1978 1977 1976 1979 in South Africa → 1980 1981 1982
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	List of years in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1979 in South Africa.

Incumbents

• State President:
  • John Vorster (until 4 June).
  • Marais Viljoen (acting from 4 June, elected from 19 June).
• Prime Minister: P.W. Botha.
• Chief Justice: Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff.

Events

January

• 8 – South Africa and Lesotho sign a monetary agreement.
• 14 – Police clash with Umkhonto we Sizwe guerrillas near Zeerust and arrest one while six escape into Botswana.
• 23 – A bomb explodes near the New Canada railway station in Soweto.
• 24 – A large amount of explosives is found and defused on the railway line between Fort Beaufort and King William's Town.

February

• Sergeant Benjamin Letlako, a Police Special Branch member, is shot dead in Katlehong.

April

• Explosives are discovered and defused on a railway line near Soweto.

May

• 5 – Guerrillas open fire in the Moroka Police Station, killing one and wounding three more policemen and three civilians.
• 29 – Bishop Abel Muzorewa becomes the transitional Prime Minister of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.

June

• 4 – Following the Information Scandal, John Vorster resigns as State President of South Africa.
• 4 – Marais Viljoen becomes acting State President of South Africa for the second time.
• 19 – Marais Viljoen becomes State President of South Africa.
• Explosives are discovered and defused on a railway line in the Eastern Transvaal.

September

• 22 – A Vela satellite detects a flash in the southern Atlantic Ocean, believed to be a South African-Israeli nuclear test.

November

• Guerrillas open fire and hurl grenades in the Orlando Police Station charge office, killing two policemen and wounding two.
• Grenades are thrown into the home of Special Branch policeman Lt Magezi Ngobeni and five children are wounded.

December

• A bomb explodes and damages the railway line near Alice.
• A bomb explodes at the Sasol Oil Refineries and cause massive structural damage.

Unknown date

• The National Council of Lawyers for Human Rights is established.
• The African National Congress's Special Operations, reporting directly to Oliver Tambo, is established.
• The African National Congress' Nova Catengue Training Camp is attacked and destroyed by the South African Air Force.

Births

• 8 January – Butch James, rugby player
• 10 January – Louise Carver, singer-songwriter, pianist
• 29 January – Mfuneko Ngam, cricketer
• 5 February – Steve Lekoelea, soccer player
• 14 February – Wesley Moodie, tennis player
• 23 February – Jaco van Zyl, golfer
• 25 February – Wikus van Heerden, rugby player
• 18 March – Bonnie Mbuli, actress
• 25 March – Kgomotso Christopher, actress and voice over artist best known for her time in Isidingo as Katlego Sibeko
• 6 April – Manaka Ranaka, actress
• 9 April – Ryan Cox, professional road racing cyclist. (d. 2007)
• 3 June – Deon Carstens, rugby player
• 23 June – Marilyn Agliotti, field hockey player
• 6 July – Zandile Msutwana, actress
• 10 July – Marius Joubert, rugby player
• 4 August – Robin Peterson, cricketer
• 12 September – Gcobani Bobo, rugby player
• 17 September – Neill Blomkamp, film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator.
• 22 September – Bakkies Botha, rugby player
• 9 October – Hendrik Odendaal, swimmer
• 11 October – Zonke, singer
• 21 November – Jason Hartman, singer-songwriter
• 16 December – Trevor Immelman, golfer
• 24 December – DJ Cleo, recording artist, DJ and record producer
• 28 December – Elvis Blue, singer, musician

Deaths

• 6 April – Solomon Mahlangu, Umkhonto we Sizwe operative hanged (b. 1956)
• 12 June – David Sibeko, Pan Africanist Congress representative to the United Nations. (b. 1938)
• 8 August – Lionel Cooper, mathematician. (b. 1915)
• 10 November – Harry Hart, athlete. (b. 1905)

Railways

Locomotives

• The South African Railways places the first of 105 Class 6E1, Series 8 electric locomotives in mainline service.

Sports

Motorsport

• 3 March – The South African Grand Prix takes place at Kyalami.
• Jody Scheckter becomes Formula One World Champion.

References

1. ^ Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Heads of State: 1961-1994 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
2. South African Railways Index and Diagrams Electric and Diesel Locomotives, 610mm and 1065mm Gauges, Ref LXD 14/1/100/20, 28 January 1975, as amended
3. Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 128–129. ISBN 0869772112.

v t e Years in South Africa (1901–present)
1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

• 1979 in South Africa
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