15 February – The South African Air Force issues a stop-flying instruction for the 7 C-130BZ Hercules transport aircraft because of cracks in the wingspans. This leaves the airforce with only 2 ex USAF C-130Bs.
March
8 March – Pretoria's council votes to change the city's name to Tshwane. The move is yet to be ratified.
9 March – An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale occurs at Stilfontein's Hartebeestfontein gold mine.
28 April – South Africa becomes a partner in the Airbus A400M airlifter programme and signs for 8 aircraft, with another six on option.
May
23 May – A seismic event measuring about 3.5 on the Richter scale occurs at 08:10 with its epicentre at Carletonville, west of Johannesburg and causes rockfalls at East Driefontein gold mine, injuring 19 miners, 3 seriously.
7–10 June – The second national AIDS conference is held in Durban.
8 June – Schabir Shaik is found guilty and is sentenced to 15 years on two counts of corruption and 3 years on a count of fraud.
14 June – Jacob Zuma is relieved of his post as Deputy President of South Africa, following the verdict in Schabir Shaik's trial on the 8th. He is to stand trial the following year.
22 June – Four of the South African Air ForceC-130BZ Hercules transport aircraft are released for flying operations but under flying and maintenance restrictions.
10 September – A Sasol Tigers' Aero L-29 Delfin jet crashes during an aerobatic display at an airshow in Vereeniging, killing both pilots Gabriel Siyabonga Ndabandaba and Johnny "Jet" Hattingh.
16 November – A fire under a 400kV transmission line results in a second trip at Koeberg, causing another blackout across the Western Cape.
23 November – A routine inspection at Koeberg reveals a diminished chemical level in the backup safety system, resulting in a controlled shutdown. Backup generation is used to avert power loss until Friday 25 November, when major cuts take place throughout the day in the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape. Power is restored to normal by Saturday 26 November.
27 November – Karin Kortje is voted as South Africa's third Idols winner, beating Gift Gwe in the final, and in so doing becomes the first non-white to win the competition.
December
1 December – The South African Constitutional Court orders parliament to amend the marriage laws to allow gay weddings within a year.