1981 in South Africa

	1981 in South Africa
1978 1979 1980 « 1981 » 1982 1983 1984

Timeline of South African history

Events

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)

9 February - Tuks FM (107.2FM),the University of Pretoria's campus radio station, is established^[1]
Two people are injured when a bomb explodes in a Durban shopping centre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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