In
prison Mandela demonstrated his heart by never compromising his political principles. He was always a source of strength for the other prisoners. Nelson Mandela's reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant Black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.More people watched his release from prison on February 11, 1990 than any other prisoner in the history of the world. Some even analyzed th
e details of his speech he gave on his release! He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He served as president of South Africa from 1994-1999.Mandela has honorary degrees from more than 50 international universities. Nelson Mandela retired from public life in June 1999 and he currently resides in his birth place - Qunu, Transkei.
Villagers, do you remember your participating in protests against apartheid? Do you remember how you felt when Mandela was finally released from prison? Can you deny that this quite man of peace found a way into your heart?
He was (then) a South African political activist and member of the African National Congress.
Still active, he had been in Robin Island prison in South Africa for 27 years.He led the fight against apartheid with extraordinary vigour and resilience after spending nearly three decades of his life behind bars. He sacrificed his private life and his youth for his people, and remains South Africa's best known and loved hero.
72 days that shaped South Africa
1 MARCH 1994
Walvis Handover 'a triumph'
Walvis Bay – South Africa's last remaining dispute with the international community was formally ended at midnight last night as the South African flag was finally lowered in Walvis Bay and the Namibian flag raised in its place.
The formal handing over of the enclave ended a worldwide campaign for its incorporation that had been linked with the demands for Pretoria to surrender control of Namibia and to end apartheid in South Africa.
The last lowering of the orange, white and blue flag was watched in silence by a South African delegation headed by Justice Minister Kobie Coetzee, Namibian President Sam Nujoma and by representatives of African states and the Organisation of African Unity.
The Star, Tuesday 1 March 1994
2 MARCH 1994
IFP, ANC in 'breakthrough'
The IFP is to consider provisionally registering for the April 27 elections. This emerged after several hours of talks between the African National Congress president Mr Nelson Mandela and IFP leader Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi in Durban yesterday.
Both the IFP and the ANC are also to explore possible international mediation to resolve outstanding constitutional deadlocks.
Buthelezi said the IFP was determined to contest the election, but added that his party's demands, as contained in the Freedom Alliance's proposals, had to be met.
The Zulu king's demands also affected the IFP's participation in the elections, he said.
The Sowetan, Wednesday 2 March 1994
3 MARCH 1994
Split looms for CP
Cape Town – The Conservative Party is so racked by internal dissent that it could see a breakaway right-wing group registering for the elections.
A group of CP MPs made it clear during a caucus meeting that it could go to the polls. One source said that they had effectively "thrown down the gauntlet".
They argued that if the right wing could get support for a Volkstaat council – provided for in the Interim Constitution this week – it could force a new government to seriously consider allowing for the creation of such a homeland.
The Star, Thursday 3 March 1994
4 MARCH 1994
Volkstaat boundaries tomorrow
The borders of the Afrikaner volkstaat and the territory's constitution would be unveiled at an open session of the Afrikaner Volksfront-aligned "people's representative council" in Pretoria tomorrow, the AVF announced yesterday.
The AVF transitional assembly last week gave its constitutional committee instructions to submit a "concept constitution" and a visual presentation of the land claims of the Afrikaner volk to the meeting for consideration and acceptance.
The AVF transitional body was implemented as a right-wing alternative to the Transitional Executive Council, which has been described by constitutional committee chairman and Conservative Party MP Fanie Jacobs as "irrelevant".
The Citizen, Friday 4 March 1994
5 MARCH 1994
Cricket might become national sport
The ANC recognises sport as the single biggest "healer" in a country torn apart by race and cultural differences.
And shadow sports minister Steve Tshwete is so encouraged by the role played by cricket that he believes it could become SA's national sport.
At the Wanderers stadium yesterday, Tshwete sat watching the test match from the front row of the plush Long Room. When the previous two South Africa-Australia cricket tests were staged on this ground in 1967 and 1970, he was breaking rocks on Robben Island.
Now in a position to break far more influential ground, Tshwete spoke of his admiration for cricket's role in healing old wounds and gave his assurance that an ANC government would have sport high on its list of priorities.
The Weekend Star, Saturday 5 March 1994
6 MARCH 1994
Viljoen crushed by right-wing hawks
Rampant Afrikaner Volksfront leaders yesterday swept aside an attempt by former SADF chief Constand Viljoen and his moderate generals to register a right-wing party for the April elections.
After a bitter nine-hour crisis meeting in which numerous personal insults were directed at General Viljoen, hardline Conservative Party leader Ferdi Hartzenberg announced triumphantly to rapturous applause: "We will not take part in the elections".
The Sunday Times, Sunday 6 March 1994
7 MARCH 1994
Bop looks poised to register
Bophuthatswana looks poised to register for the April elections, notwithstanding Friday night's registration deadline – while the right wing faces turmoil over whether to go to the polls.
Bophuthatswana government sources said yesterday a crucial meeting would be held today to decide whether to register the homeland's ruling Christian Democratic Party for the elections.
Indications yesterday were that the Afrikaner Volksfront was still divided over whether to join the election process, and pressure was mounting within and outside the AVF to take part.
The Star, Monday 7 March 1994
8 MARCH 1994
Mangope calls out troops as unrest flares
Tensions in Bophuthatswana rose yesterday after the homeland's government decided against registering for the election and the ANC called for a blockade of the territory.
Police vehicles were set alight, ANC offices were petrol-bombed and police teargassed striking public servants and the offices of Lawyers for Human Rights.
The Bophuthatswana Defence Force was called in as the homeland tried to contain unrest as the public servants' strike entered its fourth week.
Business Day, Tuesday 8 March 1994
End looms for two despised laws
The writing is on the wall for two of SA's most despised laws – Section 29 of the Internal Security Act and Section 206 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
The Transitional Executive Council's law and order subcouncil yesterday recommended that Section 29 be repealed immediately. It said 75% of the subcouncil's members favoured abolishing Section 29 immediately, while the minority favoured retaining it after an SAP report had recommended that it should not be scrapped until after the election.
Business Day, Tuesday 8 March 1994
TEC turns to flag question as time runs out
Pretoria – With time running out for a final decision on a flag for the new SA, the Transitional Executive Council today considers designs for the first time.
There have been suggestions that the peace flag be used until the government of national unity can deal with the matter after the elections. However, a management committee member said this was not an option.
The ANC expected that about 100 000 new flags would have to be made for the new government’s inauguration. Local manufacturers, alarmed at the delay, have urged quick action.
Business Day, Tuesday 8 March 1994
9 MARCH 1994
TEC bares teeth at Bop
The Transitional Executive Council (TEC) last night threatened strong action against the Bophuthatswana government.
The range of threatened measures, including the cutting off of funds to Bophuthatswana, came as the protest and strike crisis in the homeland deepened yesterday.
There were also reports last night of security forces firing live ammunition in an attempt to disperse the "raging masses".
The Star, Wednesday 9 March 1994
Arms theft: SAP move in
Police are understood to be questioning a South African Air Force flight sergeant in connection with the theft of weapons from 10 Air Depot at Voortrekkerhoogte at the weekend.
Sources said several other men – all believed to be SAAF employees – are being sought for questioning.
The ANC has expressed its "serious concern" about the theft and the regularity of such raids on SADF arms depositories.
The Star, Wednesday 9 March 1994
Businessman's cellular phone launched
Coinciding with an international launch, OfficeMart has introduced the Nokia 2110, which it claims is the smallest, lightest and most feature-packed digital cellular unit on the market.
Capabilities include 125 memory locations, speed dial memory slots and high-speed wireless data/fax support. It costs R4 199.
The Star Business, Wednesday 9 March 1994
10 MARCH 1994
40 wounded as Mangope's men open fire
Mmabatho - About 40 people were shot and wounded, three critically, when police opened fire on demonstrators in the Bophuthatswana capital yesterday.
As tensions heightened, the public servants' strike widened.
President Lucas Mangope took a hardline stance, rejecting Independent Electoral Commission chairman Judge Johann Kriegler's plea for free political activity in the homeland, and firing the staff of the Bophuthatswana Broadcasting Corporation, closing down two television stations and three radio stations.
Business Day, Thursday 10 March 1994
Inkatha, Freedom Front fail to submit candidates' lists to IEC
Confusion reigned at the Independent Electoral Commission's offices in Johannesburg yesterday as the 4.30pm deadline for the submission of candidates' lists passed, and IEC chairman Judge Johann Kriegler conceded that his "final" deadline could be amended retrospectively if there was political agreement.
However, the Inkatha Freedom Party, General Constand Viljoen's Freedom Front and the unknown Realist Party had failed to submit their lists three hours after the deadline. Twenty-six parties beat the deadline to confirm their participation in the April election.
Business Day, Thursday 10 March 1994
11 MARCH 1994
SADF heads for Bop
Mmabatho – The South African Defence Force began roling towards riot-torn Bophuthatswana before dawn today amid reports that heavily armed rightwingers had mobilised to assist the homeland's troops.
Foreign Minister Pik Botha said today that the government had ordered SADF troops to the South African embassy in Bophuthatswana.
Heavy rioting has now spread to most parts of the homeland, and gunfire could be heard throughout the night.
The Star, Friday 11 March 1994
Mangope flees home
Bophuthatswana's leader Lucas Mangope fled the homeland's capital in a helicopter last night. Tracing the route of his escape from Mmabatho, Sowetan has confirmed that his helicopter first landed at his rural home at Motswedi and later at Sun City.
Sporadic shots could be heard in Mmabatho last night after a day of widespread looting. The movement of armed members of the AWB near Ventersdorp was also reported.
Earlier, thousands of singing residents took to the streets of the capital waving ANC and SACP placards. Police presence was at an absolute minimum, with only three police cars seen scurrying towards the massive show of popular support for Bop's reincorporation into South Africa.
The Sowetan, Friday 11 March 1994
12 MARCH 1994
Horror slaying of 3 AWB men
"Please God help get us some medical help", pleaded the bearded member of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB).
They were his last words before a Bophuthatswana soldier calmly stepped up and pumped six bullets into the bearded, khaki-clad man and two colleagues in Mmabatho yesterday, reports an eyewitness, Reuters photographer Kevin Carter.
At least 60 people have been killed in Bophuthatswana and 300 wounded or injured in three days of continuous rioting, looting, burning and fighting, mostly around the capital Mmabatho.
Thousands of heavily armed right-wingers made to leave Bophuthatswana after fierce fighting with the Bophuthatswana Defence Force (BDF).
But as they pulled out from the BDF airstrip in a 400 vehicle convoy, they were again confronted by troop carriers of the BDF.
The Citizen, Saturday 12 March 1994
Front makes cut-off: IFP misses out
A Freedom Front delegation submitted its candidates' list at the Independent Electoral Commission's Johannesburg office minutes before yesterday's midnight deadline.
But IEC official Norman du Plessis said the Inkatha Freedom Party had failed to register in time for the midnight cut-off.
Du Plessis said this meant the IFP "comes off the ballot". Technically, this meant the party would no longer be able to contest the election.
Weekend Star, Saturday 12 March 1994
13 MARCH 1994
TEC, SA to take over in Bop
A joint Transitional Executive Council (TEC) and South African government delegation flew into Bophuthatswana last night to begin taking control of the homeland.
This followed an emergency meeting of the TEC management committee to discuss President Lucas Mangope's refusal to give Independent Electoral Commission head Justice Johann Kriegler satisfactory assurances that he would allow free and fair elections in the territory.
Sunday Times, Sunday 13 March 1994
14 MARCH 1994
Mangope is axed
Bophuthatswana President Lucas Mangope was finally ousted yesterday, but over 60 people lost their lives in a week of drama that changed the face of the Western Transvaal region.
Mangope was removed from office by South African Foreign Minister Pik Botha and Transitional Executive Council (TEC) member Mac Maharaj following a late night flight into the capital Mmabatho on Saturday.
Anger grew among residents as the immensity of the loss of black lives, partly through random shootings by ultra-rightwingers on Friday, came to the fore.
Sowetan, Monday 14 March 1994
IFP won't take part in election
The IFP will not contest next month's election despite the "good progress" made at Friday's meeting between the party and the ANC on whether or not to seek international mediation, IFP central committee members confirmed yesterday.
Members Walter Felgate and Dr Ziba Jiyane said the party's central committee meeting in Ulundi on Thursday had settled the election issue.
"We have decided against participation in the election, and we have no intention of submitting any lists of candidates", said Felgate, one of Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's most trusted advisers.
The Star, Monday 14 March 1994
Bizarre stunt pulls crowds to festival
Ermelo – Despite angry protests from animal lovers throughout the country, the controversial parachute jump by a horse from a helicopter took place at the weekend.
However, it was not Jonti the seven-year-old blue roan in the flesh, but rather a realistic polystyrene reproduction that splattered as it hit the ground from about 400m.
Amid cheers, a record audience roared cries of "Long live Jonti" as the live horse's owner, Oubaas de Jager, proudly rode him around the arena.
The announcement by the Wool Carnival Committee last week that Jonti, fitted with a specially designed parachute, would jump from a hovering helicopter, drew adverse reaction from animal lovers throughout the country.
The Star, Monday 14 March 1994
15 MARCH 1994
Edgy Bop awaits Mandela
Uneasy calm returned to Bophuthatswana yesterday with the South African Defence Force firmly in control of security while a general mopping-up operation began after a week of mayhem.
Meanwhile, Mmabatho is abuzz with expectations as African National Congress president Mr Nelson Mandela and Professor Itumeleng Mosala, president of the Azanian People's Organisation, address separate rallies in Mmabatho today.
Sowetan, Tuesday 15 March 1994
Mangope may sue
Kimberley – Deposed Bophuthatswana President Lucas Mangope said yesterday he still considered himself the legal leader of Bophuthatswana and was considering legal action against the South African government for removing him from power at the weekend.
The Citizen, Tuesday 15 March 1994
ET claims victory in Bop
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terre'Blanche said yesterday his movement had scored a "brilliant victory" in Bophuthatswana, and his men who were ambushed while withdrawing from Mmabatho on Friday were heroes.
Saying he was "terribly sorry the AWB members had no opportunity to stay [in the former homeland] and continue their work", Mr Terre'Blanche told local and international newsmen at a media conference in Ventersdorp that what had happened in Bophuthatswana was a "resounding triumph for the AWB".
The Citizen, Tuesday 15 March 1994
16 MARCH 1994
'My nation, I greet you'
ANC leader Nelson Mandela was yesterday given a hero's welcome at Bophuthatswana's Independence Stadium by 50 000 people.
Mandela's opening words, delivered in Tswana, drew thundersouls applause from the crowd: "My nation, I greet you." Thousands of ANC posters were held aloft as the crowd roared its admiration.
In his speech at the stadium, Mandela labelled the revolt which led to the fall of Lucas Mangope's government as a "people's uprising", insisting it was the people, not the De Klerk government, that had toppled Mangope.
The Star, Wednesday 16 March 1994
New national flag unveiled
Pretoria – South Africa's new national flag was unveiled yesterday.
Designed by state herald Fred Brownell, the flag was accepted unanimously by the Transitional Executive Council (TEC). It will be raised officially after April's election.
While the new constituent assembly would be able to change the flag, all TEC delegates said they were satisfied with the six-colour design.
TEC NP representative Roelf Meyer said the flag would "grow in the minds of South Africans". It had a good chance of becoming SA's final flag, he said.
It was one of more than 7 000 designs submitted to multiparty negotiators last year. A TEC subcommittee of Meyer and ANC delegate Cyril Ramaphosa, in conjunction with the technical advisory committee, made the final recommendation.
Ramaphosa said the flag's colours would have meaning for everyone in SA.
Brownell, who was also responsible for Namibia's flag, said the colours had no specific meaning. "Symbolism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder."
The TEC also accepted that Die Stem and Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika would be used as SA's interim national anthems.
Business Day, Wednesday 16 March 1994
Insurers struggle to provide cover as vehicle theft tops R3bn a year
Nylstroom – Vehicle theft in SA had reached such proportions that insurance companies might soon be unable to provide theft cover as part of their usual motor policies, SA Insurance Association CEO Rodney Schneeberger said yesterday.
Theft cover would have to be provided at a much higher premium, separate from other insurance, he said at an international vehicle theft conference.
Delegates heard that vehicle theft had cost the SA economy more than R3.02-billion last year.
Business Day, Wednesday 16 March 1994
17 MARCH 1994
De Klerk warns Right
State President De Klerk last night announced that the government had made a number of contingency plans to prevent the right wing from attempting to take over authority over towns as part of their resistance against the new constitution.
Speaking in Pretoria last night after the weekly cabinet meeting, Mr De Klerk said it appeared that the Conservative Party and the Volksfront's plan for mass action, starting on March 29, could include physical attempts to take control of some local authorities.
The Citizen, Thursday 17 March 1994
Ciskei agrees to pay out pensions
East London – Ciskei's government agreed yesterday to pay pension benefits to public servants who this week threatened "Bophuthatswana-style action" if their demands were not met.
But it rejected their demands for an interim administrator for the territory as "a deliberate provocation which can only bring about instability and violence", and warned against strikes.
Business Day, Thursday 17 March 1994
McDonald's wins trademark war
A local company owned by Chicken Licken franchise owner George Sombocos was yesterday found in contempt in a battle over the McDonald's trademark.
The move could herald the entry of the McDonald's fast food chain into SA.
Justice RW Nugent found yesterday in the Pretoria Supreme Court that Joburger's Drive-Inn Restaurant, the compay owned by Sombocos, was in contempt of court. Its application to have McDonald's trademarks expunged from the SA trademarks register was stayed, and it was ordered to pay costs as a mark of the court's displeasure.
In September McDonald's obtained an interim interdict stopping the local company from infringing its trademarks pending the final outcome of Joburger's application for the McDonald's trademark to be removed from the register.
Sombocos had since acquired an outlet in Point Head, Durban, called McDonald's, and a contempt application was brought by McDonald's in the US.
Business Day, Thursday 17 March 1994
18 MARCH 1994
SAP generals accused
Top South African Police generals – including the SAP's number two men – are understood to be directly implicated by the Goldstone Commission in the supply of weapons to members of the Inkatha Freedom Party.
Intelligence sources told The Star yesterday that an imminent commission report will accuse the generals of involvement in an arms-supply network and other violence related activities from 1990.
The sources claim that the report on the Goldstone Commission's investigation into, among other matters, arms smuggling and distribution, provides unprecedented evidence of the existence of "third force" activity within elements of the police.
The Star, Friday 18 March 1994
Ulundi talks postponed
The meeting between Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini and African National Congress president Mr Nelson Mandela in Ulundi today has been called off. This was confirmed by an ANC spokesman after fears were expressed earlier by the movement there might be an assassination attempt on Mandela.
Addressing the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly, IFP president Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi said he had arranged for extra South African Police in Ulundi on Friday, saying "only an insane person" would try to assassinate the ANC leader.
If Mandela was killed "the whole country would go up in flames", he said.
Sowetan, Friday 18 March 1994
Buthelezi beats the drum ever harder
Ulundi – About 100km from the KwaZulu capital, a solitary National Party election poster, bearing President De Klerk's face, hangs crookedly on a telephone pole alongside the main road.
It appears to be the only physical evidence anywhere near Ulundi that the country's first ever multiracial election is only weeks away.
At first glance it seems to be business as usual when you arrive in the dry, dusty capital dorp in rural KwaZulu.
At the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly, however, it became evident yesterday that emotions are extremely high and the election is foremost in many minds.
KwaZulu Chief Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi opened this year's sitting with probably his toughest speech yet. President De Klerk was accused of "double-crossing and deceit" in his handling of negotiations.
Buthelezi warned that the conflict between the ANC and IFP had for some time been in danger of "being turned into a conflict which can only be ended in a fight right to the finish".
The Star, Friday 18 March 1994
19 MARCH 1994
Tensions high as king urges UDI
Ulundi – Clouds of confrontation have begun to gather over KwaZulu, with King Goodwill Zwelithini suggesting yesterday that the region is on the point of a unilateral declaration of independence.
It is evident that the atmosphere in the territory is extremely tense, and addresses by leaders have taken on an increasingly belligerent tone in recent days.
Speaking here yesterday at a gathering of the king's subjects – which was to have been addressed by ANC president Nelson Mandela – the Zulu king urged Zulus to defend their freedom and sovereignty "at all costs".
He added that such sovereignty would be denied by an election under the Interim Constitution.
Weekend Star, Saturday 19 March 1994
3 SAP generals to be probed
An international task force will investigate allegations that deputy police commissioner, General Basie Smit, and another two top South African Police generals, Major-General Krappies Engelbrecht and Lieutenant-General Johan le Roux, have been involved in violence to destabilise the country.
The announcement about a Goldstone Commission report on the alleged activities of a criminal network was made by State President De Klerk at a press conference in Pretoria last night.
Mr De Klerk said the generals and other named police officers had been placed on immediate leave following allegations in the interim Goldstone Commission report that they, Inkatha Freedom Party officials and other SAP officers had been involved in a "horrible network of criminal activity".
The Citizen, Saturday 19 March 1994
20 MARCH 1994
SA might have to send troops to Natal
The SA government might be compelled to use force if King Goodwill Zwelithini goes ahead with plans to annex KwaZulu/Natal as a Zulu kingdom.
Leading constitutional expert Prof John Dugard said that if the Zulu monarch's proclamation on Friday amounted to secession, then force might have to be used to maintain the sovereignty of the country.
Dugard said King Zwelithini's decision could also encourage white right-wingers to unilaterally declare independence and establish a Volkstaat, probably in the eastern Transvaal, which would make it easy for them to link up with KwaZulu/Natal.
City Press, Sunday 20 March 1994
Third force hunter is now the hunted
A series of inconclusive inquiries into political violence by Major-General Krappies Engelbrecht will come under fresh scrutiny in the next fortnight by a team of international investigators appointed by President FW de Klerk.
The Goldstone commission, which heard evidence that General Engelbrecht was one of three top generals implicated in "third force" activity, has a mass of new information to put before the investigators.
This information is expected to throw a spotlight on the remarkable record of failure by the SA Police to resolve a series of cases of serious political violence.
Sunday Times, Sunday 20 March 1994
21 MARCH 1994
IFP plans poll protest
The Inkatha Freedom Party has rejected an initiative by President De Klerk to bring it into the election and is instead planning a campaign of opposition to the Interim Constitution and next month's election.
Tensions in KwaZulu/Natal continued to soar at the weekend with sporadic outbreaks of violence and both the IFP and ANC announcing steps designed to gain strategic advantage in the province.
The Star, Monday 21 March 1994
He's tuning in to Parliament
Parliament's austere corridors might soon be reverberating to the rhythmic reggae beat if James Mange can muster enough fans.
The dreadlocked Mange, with his colourful history in struggle politics and music, has resurfaced as leader of the Sports Organisation for Collective Contribution and Equal Rights (SOCCER) Party.
The Rastafarian commando spent 13 years on Robben Island after being sentenced to death in 1979 along with 11 others for high treason.
Once free he set about establishing a musical career.
But politics is in his bones, he says, and he has found a way to marry his two loves and hopefully take them into the realm of government in the new South Africa.
The Star, Monday 21 March 1994
22 MARCH 1994
TEC bid to take control in KwaZulu
The Transitional Executive Council (TEC) is considering a series of steps, including giving the SAP jurisdiction over KwaZulu and considering government's financial obligations to the territory, to ensure free political activity in the region in the five weeks leading up to the elections.
At the same time, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairman Judge Johann Kriegler is trying to secure "an inclusive commitment" to free and fair elections from President FW de Klerk, ANC president Nelson Mandela, Inkatha Freedom Party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini.
Business Day, Tuesday 22 March 1994
21 die as prisons erupt
A cell fire killed 21 prisoners at the Queenstown Prison yesterday as the countrywide protest by prisoners for the right to vote escalated.
And the mood at the majority of prisons around the country was described as "tense and volatile" by prison authorities today.
At Maritzburg Prison about 2 000 prisoners broke out of their cells and toyi-toyied in the courtyards.
By last night, 3 000 prisoners were also on hunger strike countrywide. These included 614 at East London, 29 at Krugerdorp, 148 at Port Shepstone, 16 at Pollsmoor (Cape Town) and 210 at Brandviel.
The Star, Tuesday 22 March 1994
Bomb wrecks NP offices
A powerful bomb wrecked through the offices of the National Party in Right-wing Ventersdorp last night.
A police spokesman confirmed that the explosion caused large-scale damage to the building which houses the offices.
The Citizen, Tuesday 22 March 1994
23 MARCH 1994
TEC takes over Ciskei as Gqozo quits
Ciskei military leader Brigadier Oupa Gqozo resigned last night as the SADF was deployed along the homeland's border in readiness to help quell a revolt by public servants and police.
The Transitional Executive Council (TEC) said it would appoint two administrators to govern Ciskei until the election, after Gqozo contacted Foreign Minister Pik Botha and offered to step down. He asked SA to intervene and restore control.
Defence Minister Kobie Coetzee said troops had been placed on full alert along Ciskei's border and could be deployed at short notice to "calm the situation".
Business Day, Wednesday 23 March 1994
24 MARCH 1994
Chaos in homelands
Bisho – As wildcat strikes by public servants spread throughout Ciskei today, the big question is which way the Ciskei Defence Force will go. The CDF boycotted talks in King William's Town yesterday called by the South African government and the Transitional Executive Council to smooth the way for the peaceful reincorporation of the homeland into South Africa following the resignation of Oupa Gqozo as president.
The Star, Thursday 24 March 1994
25 MARCH 1994
More troops for Natal?
Durban – State President De Klerk said yesterday that SA Defence Force troops could be deployed more widely in war-torn Natal and KwaZulu, where political fighting has reached almost unprecedented levels five weeks before the April election.
The Citizen, Friday 25 March 1994
26 MARCH 1994
Marching to Pretoria
Thousands of right-wingers started gathering at Radio Pretoria last night for a massive show of right-wing strength today.
As the city prepared for an invasion by up to 25 000 marchers, businesses and security forces said they were ready for any eventuality.
Afrikaner Volkstaat and Conservative Party leader Ferdi Hartzenberg is scheduled to address the marchers at Church Square on Hoofstad Dag (Capital Day) and proclaim Pretoria the capital of a right-wing volkstaat.
Weekend Star, Saturday 26 March 1994
KwaZulu on the agenda
KwaZulu Chief Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi meets President de Klerk this weekend for talks that will weigh heavily on contingency planning for strife-torn KwaZulu/Natal.
The discussions come amid increasing government speculation that an election in the region could be postponed.
Weekend Star, Saturday 26 March 1994
27 MARCH 1994
Nuclear scientists threaten to tell all
Disgruntled South African nuclear and rocket scientists are threatening to expose closely guarded secrets about the country's arms programme unless they are paid R4.5-million in retrenchment benefits.
A spokesman claiming to represent 16 scientists admitted this week that the threat amounted to blackmail.
"We want a settlement, but negotiation has failed and we don't want to have to take this to the industrial court. Our disclosures will prove embarrassing for Armscor, Denal (an off-shoot of Armscor) and the Nationalist government", he warned.
Sunday Times, Sunday 27 March 1994
28 MARCH 1994
KwaZulu simmers
The KwaZulu/Natal region remained a tinder box over the weekend – despite several high-profile peace initiatives. In one incident, the home of African National Congress regional premier candidate Mr Jacob Zuma was torched by a mob on Saturday night in Nxamalala, near Inkandla, in Northern Natal.
Anti-ANC pamphlets, accusing the organisation of colluding with the government (described as "the Boers") to overthrow Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, were strewn in the area. Zulus were also urged not to vote in the April 27 elections.
Sowetan, Monday 28 March 1994
29 MARCH 1994
Mayhem as Zulus march in Jo'burg
More than 30 people were killed and hundreds injured in battles in the Johannesburg area yesterday as tens of thousands of Zulus converged on the city centre to demonstrate their support for King Goodwill Zwelithini.
Eight Zulu marchers were killed outside the ANC's headquarters in Plein Street when security guards fired into the crowd after snipers fired on the building.
Minutes later, volleys of gunfire sent a huge crowd at the Library Gardens rally scattering for cover. When the commotion subsided at least five people lay dead.
Business Day, Tuesday 29 March 1994
SADF troops sent to QwaQwa capital
Phuthaditjaba – More than 200 people were arrested yesterday and SADF troops were deployed in QwaQwa after a march by thousands of public servants on the homeland's parliament deteriorated into violence, with demonstrators breaking windows and looting shops.
Business Day, Tuesday 29 March 1994
30 MARCH 1994
Buthelezi threatens to fight as TEC agrees on a state of emergency
Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi yesterday vowed to fight the ANC "to the finish" unless the elections were postponed – as the Transitional Executive Council recommended emergency measures in KwaZulu/Natal.
A state of emergency encompassing the whole of Natal and KwaZulu would be proclaimed by the President within the next few days, the TEC agreed.
The declaration, accompanied by the incremental deployment of SADF troops, was intended to halt the escalation of violence in the region as well as ensure free and fair elections next month.
Business Day, Wednesday 30 March 1994
31 MARCH 1994
Support for NP has grown, our poll reveals
With less than a month to go in the election campaign, the National Party has rallied, increasing its support by 6 percent – mostly at the expense of the ANC.
Nelson Mandela's organisation appears assured of a convincing victory at the polls, but improved showings by President de Klerk's party, as well as the PAC and General Constand Viljoen's new Freedom Front, leave the question of a two-thirds ANC majority wide open.
This is likely to be the main focus of the remaining weeks of campaigning.
The Star, Thursday 31 March 1994
1 APRIL 1994
Police pay to triple during election
The daily allowances of South African Police will rise three-fold during the election period to keep them in line with the much better pay of members of the National Peacekeeping Force. The pay bonus is considered vital to boost police morale and avert an internal revolt.
Weekly Mail & Guardian, Friday 1 April 1994
TEC's plan to police the police
The Transitional Executive Council took its first decisive step to check rogue police elements by forming a police inspectorate charged with keeping a watch on various police agencies during the election run-up.
A transitional complaints mechanism will also be established for civilians to protest against unacceptable police conduct.
Weekly Mail & Guardian, Friday 1 April 1994
2 APRIL 1994
Why FW cracked down in Natal
Chilling intelligence reports predicting a sharp increase in KwaZulu/Natal violence fatalities as the election approached finally persuaded President de Klerk to declare a state of emergency in the region, according to government sources.
Weekend Star, Saturday 2 April 1994
3 APRIL 1994
Voters call for one SA
Voters in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand (PWV), Western Cape and KwaZulu/Natal overwhelmingly reject the idea of an independent Zulu kingdom and the notion of a white homeland.
Some 61% of voters in the PWV, 43% in the Western Cape and 58% in KwaZulu/Natal were against an independent Zulu kingdom.
More than 77% of voters in the PWV, 60% in the Western Cape and 72% in KwaZulu/Natal said they were against an independent volkstaat.
Sunday Times, Sunday 3 April 1994
4 APRIL 1994
Top 4 summit on Friday
African National Congress leader Mr Nelson Mandela said yesterday he would meet State President De Klerk, Inkatha Freedom party head, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini for a peace summit on Friday.
The Citizen, Monday 4 April 1994
Oz rugby side cancels visit to Durban
Political violence in Natal has prompted New South Wales rugby officials to cancel the Waratahs' visit to Durban for a Super Seven match later this month.
The Citizen, Monday 4 April 1994
5 APRIL 1994
Mediation efforts run into trouble
International mediation has run into difficulties before its scheduled start this week, with the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party unable to agree on the terms of reference.
While the ANC the mediators would now decide on the terms of reference, both former British foreign secretary Lord Carrington and former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who have been named as mediators, said they would not coming to SA until the parties had agreed on the terms of reference.
Business Day, Tuesday 5 April 1994
Stockpile mania grips shoppers
Pre-election stockpiling of non-perishables has spread countrywide, despite Eskom assurances that there was no chance of a nationwide black-out over the election period.
Although it was difficult to separate the normal Easter rush from panic buying ahead of the three-day poll on April 26, 27 and 28, long queues and rapidly emptying shelves have been reported at stores throughout the Pretoria-Witwatersrand.
In the Western Cape, stores reported that candles, blankets, black plastic bags, canned foods and dry foods such as mealie meal and rice had disappeared from supermarket shelves as quickly as they came in.
The Star, Tuesday 5 April 1994
6 APRIL 1994
KwaZulu vote shock
With only three weeks before South Africans cast their votes, a joint committee consisting of the Independent Electoral Commission, KwaZulu and the SA Government has concluded that elections would be impossible in KwaZulu under present conditions.
The Star, Wednesday 6 April 1994
7 APRIL 1994
No KwaZulu election delay, say Govt, ANC
South Africa's first all-race election will take place as scheduled throughout the country, including KwaZulu/Natal, the Government and the ANC said yesterday.
The Star, Thursday 7 April 1994
Dozens injured in riot sparked by 'prank'
A "highly irresponsible" prank by a warder at Johannesburg Prison early yesterday led to a riot by 1 000 prisoners, in which dozens were injured. Prisoners set fire to their cells after a warder fired teargas at a colleague in a watchtower on the boundary of the prison grounds at 2am. However, the canister exploded in a ditch and the gas blew into the cells of about 600 sleeping prisoners.
Business Day, Thursday 7 April 1994
8 APRIL 1994
Crunch KwaZulu summit
The four-way summit aimed at accommodating the Zulu monarchy goes ahead as planned today as hopes soar that an all-inclusive agreement will be reached.
The meeting is between African National Congress president Mr Nelson Mandela, King Goodwill Zwelithini, State President FW de Klerk and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, chief minister of KwaZulu.
The venue of the meeting is a closely kept secret, with journalists accredited to cover the summit having been advised only to assemble at a military airbase outside Pretoria.
Sowetan, Friday 8 April 1994
Clash of the televison titans
On one side is the Father of the Nation: regal, statesman-like and almost saintly. The problem is, though, that he talks at the measured and pedantic pace of a provincial schoolmaster, and is stiff and uncomfortable on television.
On the other side is a sharp and incisive debater, well honed by decades of parliamentary experience. The problem is, though, that his opponent carries the aura of sanctitude and that his own newly acquired good-ol'-boy affability does not always ring quite true.
Next Thursday's presidential debate between Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk will be the country's first full-throttle sally into American-style television campaigning.
Weekly Mail & Guardian, Friday 8 April 1994
9 APRIL 1994
TEC gives assurance to civil servants
The Transitional Executive Council has assured all public servants that their jobs, salaries and pensions are guaranteed by the new consitution, which comes into effect on April 27.
The TEC said yesterday it was aware of increasing concern among public servants, including members of the security forces, about their futures, pensions and salaries.
Citizen, Saturday 9 April 1994
10 APRIL 1994
Royal flush beats ANC ace
A desperate attempt by ANC leader Nelson Mandela to persuade Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini to support peaceful elections in Natal was torpedoed at this week's crisis summit by Inkatha president Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Mr Mandela played what he had hoped would be his ace card by offering King Goodwill powers as a constitutional monarch with sway over the whole Natal province.
But Chief Buthelezi scuppered the proposal by insisting the offer could not be considered unless all Inkatha's other concerns were handled at the same time.
Sunday Times, Sunday 10 April 1994
11 APRIL 1994
Crunch week for KwaZulu
KwaZulu could face an intensified security crackdown if last-gasp talks this week fail to produce a breakthrough in the electoral impasse.
There are widespread fears that violence in KwaZulu/Natal might soar if the special working group – set up to provide the summit sequel with fresh initiatives – fails.
Yesterday there was deep pessimism in both Governmental and ANC circles over prospects for a breakthrough.
The Star, Monday 11 April 1994
12 APRIL 1994
Foreign mediators arrive
International mediators fly into SA today for the start of mediation tomorrow between the ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party and government at a corporate retreat in the Eastern Transvaal.
Business Day, Tuesday 12 April 1994
Day of confusion for JSE dealers
A confused picture emerged on the JSE yesterday as shares were buffeted by a tumbling finrand, a declining gold price and buying and selling by both foreign and local investors.
"It was a scary market with our currencies falling so sharply and people worried about how long the finrand slump will last", a dealer said.
Business Day, Tuesday 12 April 1994
13 APRIL 1994
Five guilty of race killings
Five members of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging were yesterday found guilty in the Rand Supreme Court of the "cold-blooded murder" of four blacks at an illegal roadblock in December last year.
Their conviction followed racist attacks on blacks at a bogus roadblock on the Ventersdorp-Krugersdorp road on December 12.
Sowetan, Wednesday 13 April 1994
It's no toss-up between FW, Mandela
If you thought tossing a coin was the simplest way of settling a dispute, you underestimate the infinite capacity of politicians to complicate even that.
SABC officials organising tomorrow night's long-awaited live televised debate between President de Klerk and ANC president Nelson Mandela suggested that a coin should be spun to decide which man should speak first.
Oh no, said the ANC. No ways, said the Nats. Neither was prepared to trust their opponents with the toss – or themselves with the call.
Eventually it was settled. A neutral party will spin a R1 coin. If it lands on the Springbok, De Klerk will kick off. If it lands on the coat of arms, the honour will be Mandela's. The coin toss will be shown on Six on One tonight.
The Star, Wednesday 13 April 1994
14 APRIL 1994
Kissinger's team threatens to quit talks
International mediation was almost scuppered before it got off the ground yesterday when the mediators threatened to pack their bags and leave if the ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party and government failed to agree on their terms of reference.
The seven-man team of mediators was stranded at their Johannesburg hotel while the three parties haggled over their terms of reference, which had been settled on Sunday but amended when government joined the mediation process.
The mediation had been due to start at an eastern Transvaal retreat yesterday.
Business Day, Thursday 14 April 1994
MK man's 'we'll go to war' warning
Former ANC guerrillas were ready to go to war against the Inkatha Freedom Party as part of a new South African army if violence persisted after this month's elections, a guerrilla officer said yesterday.
The Citizen, Thursday 14 April 1994
15 APRIL 1994
Gloom as talks collapse
International mediation to break the constitutional deadlock between the African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party has failed.
Addressing a press conference in Johannesburg yesterday, the seven sombre-looking mediators said they were on their way home after parties failed to agree on terms of reference for the mediation.
Sowetan, Friday 15 April 1994
TV battle ends in harmony
Nearly an hour of bruising exchanges between South Africa's incumbent president and his likely successor gave way to passionate pledges of co-operation in last night's television debate between FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela.
In a debate initially dominated by angry sparring on well-worn issues such as complicity in violence, economic policy and responsibility for South Africa's myriad problems, the two leaders later checked mutual hostility and called for reconciliation in order to secure a stable transition.
The television contest appeared on balance to be fairly evenly matched.
The Star, Friday 15 April 1994
16 APRIL 1994
IFP plans new marches
The prospect of renewed violence in central Johannesburg next week loomed large yesterday when the Inkatha Freedom Party's Youth Brigade announced plans to impose a week-long stayaway in protest against the election and over the shootings that took place in the Library Gardens and Shell House during the movement's previous CBD demonstrations.
Weekend Star, Saturday 16 April 1994
17 APRIL 1994
Rough ride to big day
With only nine days to go before South Africa's first all-race elections, there are fears that the security forces may not have the manpower to prevent violence and intimidation seriously affecting voter turnout in some parts of the country.
Sources close to the Independent Electoral Commission – whose job is to oversee the elections – claim the police have told the IEC they do not have enough members to be deployed at over 900 polling stations and the South African Defence Force has been stretched to the limit.
Adding to the IEC's dilemma are reports that since the call-up of white reservists was made a few weeks ago, not many of them have reported for duty.
City Press, Sunday 17 April 1994
FW vows to crack down on marchers
President FW de Klerk vowed yesterday to prevent a planned Inkatha Freedom Party march in Johannesburg tomorrow from again crippling the country's financial heartland.
He told a political rally at Nasrec, near Johannesburg, that the government was taking steps to avoid a repetition of the bloodshed of a fortnight ago that left 13 people dead.
Sunday Times, Sunday 17 April 1994
Ghana tour? Now it's Zim!
SA Football Association (Safa) chief Solomon "Sticks" Morewa performed a rescue act yesterday by getting the Zimbabwe Football Association to agree to send their team as a replacement for Ghana.
Ghana, who were due to arrive in South Africa tonight to play two matches, starting on Wednesday, cancelled the tour on Friday afternoon.
City Press, Sunday 17 April 1994
18 APRIL 1994
City braces for march
Johannesburg is bracing itself for Inkatha Freedom Party mass action – now scheduled for tomorrow – after the last-minute postponement of the planned march to ANC headquarters.
Traffic chaos hit the city centre this morning as roads were sealed off in case of unscheduled mass action by members of the IFP Youth Brigade.
The Star, Monday 18 April 1994
19 APRIL 1994
Oosterbroek among slain
The Star's award-winning chief photographer, Ken Oosterbroek, was among several people killed in violence on the East Rand yesterday.
At least 16 people have died in East Rand townships in the past three days.
Oosterbroek died and two other photographers were injured during a firefight between hostel dwellers and National Peacekeeping Force troops in Tokoza.
The Star, Tuesday 19 April 1994
Game park invites you to vote with pride
Most South Africans are half expecting to fight their way through mayhem to cast their votes, but some will do it in style.
The Sabi Sands reserve in the eastern Transvaal is offering a half-price election special. "Enjoy the luxury and safety of voting at Ulosatu Game Lodge – security guaranteed (40-strong resident lion pride)", says the advert.
Business Day, Tuesday 19 April 1994
20 APRIL 1994
IFP for poll
South Africa was yesterday rescued from the brink of a political tragedy when the Inkatha Freedom Party finally agreed to contest the country's first nonracial elections, to be held next week.
The announcement follows five days of intensive meetings between IFP president Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, State President FW de Klerk and African National Congress president Mr Nelson Mandela.
Buthelezi, Mandela and De Klerk acknowledged the shuttle diplomacy of Kenyan roving ambassador Professor Washington Okumu, who brokered the negotiations leading to the historic inclusive settlement.
Sowetan, Wednesday 20 April 1994
NP loses its place at the bottom
The National Party has lost its sought-after spot on the very bottom of the national ballot paper only days after putting up posters telling voters: "To be tops, vote at the bottom."
The last-minute deal struck between the Government, ANC and IFP in Pretoria yesterday will see stickers bearing the IFP's name, logo and a picture of Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi stuck on to the white space at the bottom of the ballot papers – below the National Party.
The Star, Wednesday 20 April 1994
21 APRIL 1994
Joy as IFP plunges in
Tens of thousands of Inkatha Freedom party supporters marched through Ulundi yesterday to the Legislative Assembly building to celebrate the decision by the party to enter the election.
Sowetan, Thursday 21 April 1994
Buthelezi promises IFP will accept election outcome
Inkatha Freedom Party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi said yesterday Inkatha would accept the results of next week’s elections, if they were endorsed by the international community.
Business Day, Thursday 21 April 1994
Foreign investors return as buyers
Foreign investors returned as net buyers of SA equities and gilts last week after offloading substantial amounts of their holdings earlier in the month.
Latest JSE trading statistics for the week ended April 15 showed there was an inflow of R292.89m from an inflow of R490.499m in the week ended April 8.
London-based merchant bank Barings finance head Christopher Kemball said international funds could channel another $4bn into SA after the elections if the country's risk rating improved.
Business Day, Thursday 21 April 1994
22 APRIL 1994
Flag comes down on old regime
The new South African flag will be ushered in one minute after midnight on Wednesday – April 27 – when the new flag is hoisted and the Interim Constitution comes into operation.
This signals the end to decades of minority rule.
At a minute to midnight on Tuesday the present flag will be lowered for the last time to the strains of Die Stem.
And at one minute past mid-night the new flag will be hoisted while the new anthems, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika and Die Stem, are being played.
The Star, Friday 22 April 1994
Clinton's pledge to SA
Washington – Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk together are a "strong rebuke to the cynics of the world", according to US President Bill Clinton.
In an interview at the White House with the editor-in-chief of The Star, Richard Steyn, and the editor of Sowetan, Agrey Klaaste – the first given to South African journalists – the president said it would be difficult to overstate the significance to the American people of next week's South African election.
Emphasising that the US intended to be a full partner of South Africa from the beginning, Clinton said he would shortly be announcing "substantial" assistance for building SA economically.
The Star, Friday 22 April 1994
CP in disarray as councils back Viljoen
The CP was in disarray yesterday as Freedom Front leader Constand Viljoen rejected a pact with it and CP-controlled councils deserted the party and urged whites to vote for Viljoen.
At the same time the Freedom Front will sign an accord, which does not meet any of the CP's demands for a right-wing electoral pact, with the ANC and government in Cape Town today.
Business Day, Friday 22 April 1994
23 APRIL 1994
Rallies called in final bid to woo voters
ANC leader Nelson Mandela and Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi are to speak at massive election rallies in Durban this weekend in a final bid to win voters in KwaZulu/Natal.
Weekend Star, Saturday 23 April 1994
'I'm so proud of Nelson'
London – Nelson Mandela's former jailer James Gregory has spoken out about the man he now regards as "closer than a brother".
In a two-page newspaper interview yesterday, Gregory, who guarded the ANC leader for more than 20 years, admits he started out with instructions to do everything he could to demoralise the man he was told was a terrorist. But something in Mandela stirred Gregory. "He was different."
Weekend Star, Saturday 23 April 1994
We're out of this joint, say angry Green candidates
Two of the Green Party's candidates in the Western Cape have left the party in outrage at a manifesto which calls for the legislation and mass production of dagga as a purportedly ecologically sound alternative resource.
Weekend Star, Saturday 23 April 1994
24 APRIL 1994
Final step to freedom
South Africa embarks this week on a second round of revolutionary change after completing a near-miraculous transition from apartheid to democracy.
The midweek election is recognised around the world as a momentous and triumphal event, the completion of an impossible journey against the odds.
For South Africa, the election marks the end of 342 years of white hegemony; for Africa, it completes the liberation of a continent; for the world, it is the final repudiation of institutionalised European racism.
Sunday Times, Sunday 24 April 1994
Now is the time
Apartheid and centuries of white domination finally end next week when millions of our people, African, white, coloured and Indian, cast their vote to elect South Africa's first democratic government.
The elections mark the most momentous event in our country's history, ending nearly 350 years of racial domination, conflict and polarisation.
By finally consigning that ugly word – APARTHEID – to history, South Africans are on the threshold of giving the world a racial miracle.
City Press, Sunday 24 April 1994
The Octogenerian and the teenager. He's 81. She's 19. And they'll both be absolute beginners on election day. Walter Sisulu, oldest member of the ANC's executive committee, and Johannesburg secretary Kim Schultz will be voting for the first time on Wednesday.
Sisulu, vice-president of the ANC, was imprisoned on Robben island after the Rivonia Trial in 1964 and released in October 1989. He'll be drawing his first ever cross for the ANC. Kim, who hails from Stilfontein and works in downtown Johannesburg, is keeping her vote secret.
25 APRIL 1994
Nine killed as car bomb rocks Jo'burg
Nine people were killed and 92 injured in central Johannesburg yesterday in SA's largest bomb blast.
Police said the 90kg car bomb – almost twice the size of that in the 1983 Pretoria bombing – went off on the corner of Bree and Von Wielligh Streets just before 10am, instantly killing a pavement fruit seller and causing extensive damage to the ANC's regional and national headquarters, as well as surrounding buildings.
ANC Johannesburg secretary-general Susan Keane, 37, of Saxonwold, who was the 41st candidate on the ANC's regional election list, died of her injuries in hospital.
Business Day, Monday 25 April 1994
26 APRIL 1994
Bomb attacks on West Rand taxis
A bomb blast rocked a taxi rank near the Randfontein station early yesterday, just a few hours before an explosive device was thrown at minibus taxis parked under a bridge near Westonaria. Nobody was injured in either incident.
West Rand police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Henriette Bester, said police were investigating the possibility that the two blasts were linked.
The Citizen, Tuesday 26 April 1994
Navy to lower flag
Cape Town – The navy's traditional South African flag will be lowered for the last time at a special ceremony at Simon's Town at sunset today.
Simon's Town Naval Base commander Commodore Jacques de Vos would be the senior officer at the flag-lowering parade, a navy spokeswoman said.
The Citizen, Tuesday 26 April 1994
27 APRIL 1994
South Africa votes.
28 APRIL 1994
IEC under fire as voters swamp poll
Millions of exuberant South Africans went to the polls yesterday, the first day of the historic elections, despite long delays and logistical problems that rendered about 15% of voting stations inoperable for all or part of the day.
Acknowledging that there had been severe problems, IEC chairman Judge Johan Kriegler said the election so far had been between "80% and 90% acceptable". He also announced that today would be another public holiday to facilitate voting and that a further 9.3-million ballot papers would be printed locally.
Business Day, Thursday 28 April 1994
Police swoop nets 31 right-wingers
Police have arrested 31 white right-wingers in connection with the spate of bombings in the PWV area that have killed 21 people and injured 176 in the past week.
The arrests included members of the AWB and its elite Ystergarde unit, a policeman and a reservist.
The announcement came hours after yesterday's car bomb at Johannesburg's Jan Smuts Airport injured 16 people and caused massive structural damage to the north face of the building.
Business Day, Thursday 28 April 1994
29 APRIL 1994
Big count begins
South Africa now waits with bated breath for the outcome of this week's historic elections as the big count begins, with provisional results likely to be announced by Sunday night.
But the excitement will be mixed with concern and anxiety. The three days scheduled for the elections were seriously disrupted by logistical problems. As a result, voting was extended until 7pm today in certain parts of the country.
Those who are still going to the polls today are voters in Venda, Gazankulu, Lebowa, KwaZulu, Transkei and Ciskei.
Sowetan, Friday 29 April 1994
'I have waited all my life for this day. No long queue is going to stop me'
For once there was peace across the land. Despite kilometre-long queues, administrative blunders and disappointments, the party mood rarely sagged. White and black made friends in the long queues, swapping stories and bottles of refreshments. They stood patiently from dawn to dusk while the bureaucrats and politicians squabbled. The strategies, computers and cellular phones had failed. Only the unflagging human spirit made it a day to be proud of.
Weekly Mail & Guardian, Friday 29 April 1994
30 APRIL 1994
Election 'free and fair'
Independent Electoral Commission chairman, Mr Justice Johan Kriegler, said today there was no reason to doubt the country's first all-race election had been free and fair.
These comments followed a meeting with State President De Klerk and African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela shortly before the close of extended voting in some areas.
Both Mr De Klerk and Mr Mandela said they were confident the poll would be free and fair.
The Citizen, Saturday 30 April 1994
1 MAY 1994
Power to the people
As election results began to flow in last night, the ANC had established a commanding lead nationally. In the Free State, Eastern Transvaal and North West provinces, it had secured more than 80% of the vote.
Sunday Times, Sunday 1 May 1994
Mandela reassures whites in plea for conciliation
Mr Nelson Mandela promised yesterday to eschew radical policies, and appealed to all South Africans to join him in nation-building and reconciliation.
In the course of a 45-minute interview at his home in Houghton, Mr Mandela returned again and again to the theme of conciliation, going out of his way to emphasise that great tasks ahead would require the help and participation of the skilled white community.
He disclosed that the motives behind his actions, ranging from the composition of his cabinet to amnesty for the police to taxation policy, stemmed in large part from the desire to stabilise society and bring previously warring communities closer to each other.
Sunday Times, Sunday 1 May 1994
England tour back in touch
The England rugby team will arrive in South Africa on May 12 for a two-Test tour after worries about the country abated.
Sunday Times, Sunday 1 May 1994
2 MAY 1994
ANC poised for victory
The African National Congress was last night headed for victory in South Africa's first democratic elections, but conceded it had lost to the National Party in the Western Cape.
By 11pm last night, the ANC commanded a comfortable lead of 54 percent, while the NP followed with 33 percent and the Inkatha Freedom Party a mere 4.5 percent.
Sowetan, Monday 2 May 1994
3 MAY 1994
It's President Mandela
As millions more votes were tallied throughout last night and early today, the long-expected became fact: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is South Africa's first black president.
In an effective state-of-the-nation address last night as victory became inevitable, Mandela put into words the sentiments of millions of South Africans: "You can proclaim from the rooftops: free at last."
Speaking at a celebration party in a city hotel, he strongly reinforced a message of reconciliation: "This is the time to heal the old wounds and build a new South Africa."
The Star, Tuesday 3 May 1994
4 MAY 1994
IEC freezes results, revamps counting
The release of SA's election results ground to a halt last night while "a top-level IEC crisis meeting" re-evaluated the counting procedure, which was taking too long, a senior IEC official said.
Counting has dragged on for four days and delayed the transition. It had been expected to take 36 hours. Only about 75% of the votes had been counted yesterday.
Business Day, Wednesday 4 May 1994
IEC staffers can always count on a laugh
Exhausted Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials began to shake off their depression yesterday about the growing counting debacle by telling jokes about their predicament.
"How Many IEC officials does it take to change a light bulb?" is the question. "It's impossible to tell. The light bulbs haven't arrived yet", is the reply.
The officials have good reason to joke. A loose calculation shows that since counting began on Sunday morning the 50 000-odd counters have each counted one vote an hour.
Business Day, Wednesday 4 May 1994
5 MAY 1994
Horse trading by parties will decide result
Independent Electoral Commission chairman Judge Johan Kriegler yesterday said he expected the election results to be manipulated to resolve political disputes and election irregularities.
There was nothing wrong with this, he said. In fact he welcomed it.
"Let's not get overly squeamish about it", Kriegler said. "They (the parties) are in a power game with one another, and if they want to settle on the basis that they withdraw objections, there's nothing wrong with it, ethically or legally."
With only 10 days in which to certify the elections, and mindful that the presidential inauguration is scheduled for next Tuesday, the ordinary process for hearing complaints was "quite clearly not available".
"We have to make an assessment on available data", Kriegler said.
Business Day, Thursday 5 May 1994
6 MAY 1994
Poll result today - IEC
South Africa will learn the outcome of the election this afternoon, according to the Independent Electoral Commission.
This follows a flood of results earlier today, bringing the total count close to 20 million.
The final announcement – after days of frustration as the vote counting process laboured under a plethora of problems – will be made at Midrand's Gallagher Estate, the IEC said in a statement.
The Star, Friday 6 May 1994
R2 160m US aid for South Africa
Washington – President Bill Clinton announced yesterday a doubling in US assistance South Africa of $600-million (R2 160-million) over three years, and said his wife Hillary would attend Nelson Mandela's inauguration as the country's first black president.
The Citizen, Friday 6 May 1994
7 MAY 1994
It's a dream outcome
It's just about a dream result. The outcome of South Africa's first all-race election is poised to defuse many of the conflicts that could have accompanied the birth of the country's new dispensation.
The ANC – with 62.65% of the national tally – fell just short of the two-thirds threshold, a result that is bound to ease the concerns of minorities fearful of unbridled domination, at the same time satisfying the ANC's grassroots followers.
The National Party gained just more than 20% and will have 82 MPs in the National Assembly, an outcome that should assuage the fears of whites.
And in the KwaZulu/Natal provincial legislature, the fractious Inkatha Freedom Party won fairly comfortably in a result that may stem the blood-letting in the province.
Weekend Star, Saturday 7 May 1994
8 MAY 1994
One nation
As world leaders began arriving yesterday to celebrate the birth of democracy in South Africa, President-elect Nelson Mandela moved swiftly to show that SA's new government will be both pragmatic and reconciliatory.
Speaking outside a Cape Town synagogue, Mandela said: "I stand firm in the belief that we are one country, one nation, whether we are coloureds, Indians, white or Africans – that is what we must promote in this country from now on."
Sunday Times, Sunday 8 May 1994
Shaved by the poll – as Natal professor comes clean
Natal's legendary anti-apartheid beard got the chop last week. Retired University of Natal vice-principal Prof Deneys Schreiner shaved for the first time in 40 years.
In 1954, when coloureds were removed from the voters' roll by the Nats, he vowed in protest not to shave until coloureds and blacks could vote.
It seems ironic that the Nats won the Western Cape on the strength of the coloured vote last week.
This weekend, Schreiner's daughters Jenny and Barbara saw their father's free and fair face for the first time in their lives.
However, Schreiner has started regrowing the great white beard, which grew to mythological proportions in the province.
He said: "To shave once every 40 years is enough – especially with your wife's razor and Sunlight soap!"
City Press, Sunday 8 May 1994
9 MAY 1994
World's rich and powerful arrive in SA
A who's who of the world has arrived in South Africa for tomorrow's inauguration of president-elect Nelson Mandela.
Prince Philip of Britain, United Nations secretary-general Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his deputy Joshua Nkomo are among those already in the country.
And today, the flow of dignitaries continued with the arrival of delegations from the Middle East and Far East.
The Star, Monday 9 May 1994
New South Africa has landed
Cape Town – Yesterday morning's Flight SA373 from Johannesburg was not ordinary. It carried, along with a smattering of everyday passengers, a hefty chunk of South Africa's first ever nonracial Parliament.
In years gone by, flights to Cape Town on the eve of parliamentary sittings were also filled with MPs. But in those days, the overwhelming majority were white.
The Star, Monday 9 May 1994
10 MAY 1994
The world at Mandela's feet
Today will see the climax of a breathtaking two days in the history of South Africa. Mr Nelson Mandela, elected by Parliament in Cape Town yesterday as South Africa's new president, will be inaugurated at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
His election yesterday was an event filled with joy and emotion. It started with outgoing President FW de Klerk leading Mandela into the chamber of Parliament. They embraced to rapturous applause from newly elected MPs and guests in the public gallery.
Mandela also embraced Inkatha Freedom Party leader Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi when he saw him walking towards him.
The land of miracles was seeing a momentous event unfolding every few minutes.
Sowetan, Tuesday 10 May 1994
Mandela and FW express optimism
On the eve of changing the reins of power, South Africa's outgoing and incoming presidents last night called for reconciliation and expressed confidence in the country's future.
Outgoing president FW de Klerk told a civic banquet in Pretoria that he would play his part so that reconciliation became reality. President Nelson Mandela said it was necessary to join hands to promote the spirit of reconciliation to build the country.
The Star, Tuesday 10 May 1994
Gore's night at the Market
Johannesburg's Market Theatre complex last night became the site of an awesome security spectacle as one of America's most prized politicians arrived for a night of entertainment.
US vice-president Al Gore and his wife "Tipper", First Lady Hillary Clinton and Jesse Jackson were but a few big names who swept into The Laager theatre to watch extracts of South Africa's theatrical genius.
Patrons temporarily detained in The Yard restaurant opposite the theatre entrance were astonished to see six black limousines cruise swiftly into the precinct, which was tightly guarded by US secret service agents.
The only SAF presence was in the form of two black-clad snipers on the theatre roof.
The Star, Tuesday 10 May 1994
11 MAY 1994
Let's build a great SA, says Mandela
Pretoria – South Africans should forget the past and work together to build a great country, President Nelson Mandela told an excited, cheering crowd of 60 000 people attending his inauguration at the Union Buildings yesterday.
Before starting his speech to the people gathered on the Botha Lawn, Mandela danced briefly to the music of the African Jazz Pioneers, and the crowd danced delightedly with him.
In a carnival atmosphere, a group of youths ran across the lawn holding aloft a coffin with "hamba kahle apartheid" (farewell apartheid) painted on the side.
Earlier, after he had taken his oath of office, Mandela told almost 60 heads of state, royalty and 6 000 other dignitaries that South Africa, the "rainbow nation", had at last achieved its political emancipation.
In his address, Mandela vowed that "never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will experience the oppression of one by another". Business Day, Wednesday 11 May 1994
Big welcome from world leaders
Pretoria – UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali welcomed South Africa back into the world community yesterday, paying tribute to President Nelson Mandela and his deputy FW de Klerk.
"Today South Africa regained its rightful place in Africa, in the UN, and the family of nations", he said at Mandela's inauguration lunch at the Presidency.
"South Africa has earned the respect and admiration of all; tireless in search of understanding, and vigorous in pursuit of peace. You have refused to let difficulties defeat you."
Business Day, Wednesday 11 May 1994
Years of enmity end as Castro meets De Klerk and defence chief
Pretoria – An atmosphere of reconciliation prevailed as Cuban leader Fidel Castro chatted with former arch-enemies Deputy President FW de Klerk and defence force chief Gen Georg Meiring and President Mandela welcomed three of his former jailers to yesterday's inauguration luncheon.
Business Day, Wednesday 11 May 1994
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