The following lists events that happened during 1969 in South Africa.

Incumbents

State President The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...

Jim Fouché Jacobus Johannes "Jim" Fouché, (6 June 1898 – 23 September 1980Jacobus Johannes Fouch� ...

.Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Heads of State: 1961-1994
(Accessed on 14 April 2017) *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

John Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state presid ...

. * Chief Justice:

Lucas Cornelius Steyn Lucas Cornelius Steyn, PC, QC (21 December 1903 – 28 July 1976) was Chief Justice of South Africa and, as such, acted as Governor-General on two occasions. Early life Steyn was born in 1903 on a farm in the Orange River Colony, shortly af ...

Events

;April * 14-16 – A summit meeting of the leaders of East and Central African States in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

results in the issue of the ''

Lusaka Manifesto The Lusaka Manifesto (originally the ''Manifesto on Southern Africa'') is a document created by the Fifth Summit Conference of East and Central African States which took place between 14 and 16 April 1969 in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Produce ...

'' on 16 April. * 17 – Dorothy Fisher is the first woman and the fifth person to receive a

heart transplant A heart transplant, or a cardiac transplant, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease when other medical or surgical treatments have failed. , the most common proce ...

under Dr.

Christiaan Barnard Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...

. * 25 to 1 May – The

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

holds its first national consultative conference in

Morogoro Morogoro is a city in the eastern part of Tanzania west of Dar es Salaam. Morogoro is the capital of the Morogoro Region. It is also known informally as "Mji kasoro bahari" which translates to “city short of an ocean/port." The Belgian based ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. It becomes known as the "Morogoro Conference". ;May * 1 – The Department of Intelligence and Security of the

is established under

Moses Mabhida Moses Mncane Mbheki Mabhida (11 October 1923 – 8 March 1986) was a South African politician. Mabhida was leader of the South African Communist Party from 1978 until his death in 1986. Biography Mabhida was born in Thornville, Natal to a pe ...

. ;June * 4-10 – P.W. Botha, Minister of Defence, visits France accompanied by General R.C. Hiemstra, Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant-General W.P. Louw, Chief of the Army and Lieutenant-General J.P. Verster, Chief of the Air Force. ;Unknown date * Dorothy Nyembe is convicted of defeating the ends of justice by harbouring members of Umkhonto we Sizwe and is sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in Barberton Prison. * South Africa's Atomic Energy Board creates a commission to evaluate the technical and economic aspects of peaceful

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

for use in mines.

Births

* 3 February –

Retief Goosen Retief Goosen (born 3 February 1969) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He has won two U.S. Opens, in 2001 and 2004, headed the European Tour Order of Merit in 2001 and 2002, and was in the top ten of th ...

, golfer. * 10 February – James Small, rugby player (d. 2019). * 16 February –

Mpho Moerane Mpho Moerane (16 February 1969 – 18 May 2022) was a South African electrician, businessman and politician who was the mayor of Johannesburg between October and November 2021. A member of the African National Congress, he previously served as ...

, businessman and politician (d. 2022) * 5 March –

Derek Crookes Derek Norman Crookes (born 5 March 1969) is a former South African cricketer who played 32 One Day Internationals for South Africa between 1994 and 2000. In domestic cricket he played for Natal, Gauteng, Easterns and the Highveld Lions. He w ...

, cricketer. * 22 March –

David Nyathi David Sibusiso Nyathi (born 22 March 1969) is a retired South African soccer player, who is currently the assistant coach at Ajax Cape Town, and previously coached their under-19 team. Career Nyathi started playing professional football for ...

, soccer player * 12 April –

Lucas Radebe Lucas Valeriu Ntuba Radebe OIS (born 12 April 1969) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He began playing in South Africa with Kaizer Chiefs, before transferring to Leeds United, where he played 256 m ...

, captain of the

South Africa national football team The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international Association football, soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. The team's nickname is Baf ...

. * 2 June –

Taha Karaan Taha Karaan (2 June 1969 – 11 June 2021) was a South African Muslim scholar and jurist. He was the head-mufti of the Muslim Judicial Council, South Africa. He was the founder of Mahajjah Research Institute and the Dar al-Uloom al-Arabiyyah al-I ...

, scholar and jurist (d. 2021) * 8 June –

Jerry Sikhosana Jerry Sikhosana (born 8 June 1969) is a South African former football player. Playing most of his career at Orlando Pirates, he was an assumed Pirates' fierce rival Kaizer Chiefs fan, and also performed for his team at the Soweto derbies. He w ...

, soccer player * 24 June –

Thabo Mngomeni Thabo Mngomeni (born 24 June 1969, Cape Town, Western Cape) is a South African former Association football midfielder. After starting his professional career at Cape Town Spurs and having a brief spell at Manning Rangers, Mngomeni became a hou ...

, soccer player * 28 June **

Linda Buthelezi Innocent Linda Buthelezi (born 28 June 1969) is a South African former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. Buthelezi played club football for Jomo Cosmos, Kaizer Chiefs, Karabükspor, Orlando Pir ...

, soccer player **

Phil Masinga Philemon Raul Masinga (28 June 1969 – 13 January 2019) was a South African professional footballer and manager who played as a striker from 1990 to 2002. He played in the English Premier League for Leeds United, and Italian Serie A for Salern ...

, soccer player. (d. 2019) * 27 July –

Jonty Rhodes Jonathan Neil "Jonty" Rhodes (born 27 July 1969) is a South African professional cricket commentator and former Test and One Day International cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest fielders of all time and was the first South African ...

, cricketer. * 28 August –

Nthati Moshesh Nthati Moshesh (born 28 August 1969) is a South African actress. She was nominated as Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2016. Career Speaking to ENCA on her film and television preferences, she explained tha ...

, actress. * 14 September – Chris Rossouw (rugby union, born 1969), rugby player * 25 September –

Hansie Cronje Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje (25 September 1969 – 1 June 2002) was a South African international cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s. A right-handed all-rounder, as captain Cronje led his team to vi ...

, all-rounder cricketer. (d. 2002) * 17 October –

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands ) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victor ...

, golfer. * 18 October –

Japie Mulder Jacobus Cornelius 'Japie' Mulder (born 18 October 1969), is a former South African rugby union player who played for South Africa between 1994 and 2001. He is now an employee of the telecommunications infrastructure company, Dark Fibre Africa ...

, rugby player. * 20 October –

Helman Mkhalele Helman Nkosiyethu Mkhalele (born 20 October 1969) is a South African former soccer player who played as a midfielder. He was the part of the Orlando Pirates squad that won the 1994 National Soccer League and 1995 African Cup of Champions Club ...

, soccer player * 27 November –

Alan Dawson (cricketer) Alan Charles Dawson (born 27 November 1969) is a South African cricketer who played two Test matches and 19 One Day Internationals (ODI) for South Africa as a seam bowler. Dawson was a member of the South Africa team that won the 1998 ICC Kn ...

, cricketer * 24 December –

Sean Cameron Michael Sean Cameron Michael (born 24 December 1969) is a South African actor, writer and singer. A native English speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans. Early life Michael was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He became interested in acting at the a ...

, actor and singer. * 29 December –

Brendan Venter Brendan Venter (born 29 December 1969), is a South African general practitioner and rugby union coach and former player. Venter played at centre and earned 17 caps for South Africa between 1994 and 1999. He played as a replacement in the 1995 R ...

, rugby player.

Deaths

Railways

Locomotives

* The South African Railways places the first of twenty Class 6E1, electric locomotives in mainline service.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

References

{{Africa topic, 1969 in, state=collapsed

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Years in South Africa History of South Africa