The following lists events that happened during 1976 in South Africa.

Incumbents

Nico Diederichs Nicolaas Johannes "Nico" Diederichs (17 November 1903, Ladybrand – 21 August 1978) served as the third state president of South Africa from 1975 to 1978. Education and career After completing school, he attended Grey University College betwee ...

.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 i ...

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 presiden ...

. * Chief Justice:

Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff, (5 June 1912 – 4 April 1992) was the Chief Justice of South Africa from 1974 to 1982. Early life and education Born in Standerton, Transvaal, Rumpff was educated at the University of Pretoria, where he obtain ...

Events

;January * 5 – The

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's stat ...

begins the country's first

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

service. ;March * 27 – The

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

withdraws from

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and concludes

Operation Savannah Operation Savanna (or Operation Savannah) was the first insertion of SOE trained Free French paratroops into German-occupied France during World War II. This SOE mission, requested by the Air Ministry, was to ambush and kill as many pilots as ...

. ;May * 29 –

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. It was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) and was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie (EVKOM). Eskom repre ...

announces that it will order two

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 ...

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

s from France. ;June * 16 – Student riots break out in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

and

Hector Pieterson Zolile Hector Pieterson (19 August 1964 – 16 June 1976) was a South African schoolboy who was shot and killed at the age of twelve during the Soweto uprising, when the police opened fire on black students protesting the enforcement of teach ...

Hastings Ndlovu Hastings Ndlovu ( 2 February 1961 - 16 June 1976) was a schoolboy who was killed in the Soweto uprising against the apartheid system in South Africa. Life On 16 June 1976, when the police from the Orlando Police Station led by Colonel Kleingeld ...

and two white officials of the West Rand Board are some of the casualties. * 23 –

and

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

hold talks in West Germany over the Rhodesian issue. ;August * 25–26 –

and

President of Zambia The president of Zambia is the head of state and the head of government of Zambia. The office was first held by Kenneth Kaunda following independence in 1964. Since 1991, when Kaunda left the presidency, the office has been held by seven othe ...

Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Diss ...

meet at

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls ( Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and anim ...

. ;September * 13 – The Cillié Commission of Inquiry into the 16 June riots in

begins. * 30 –

Michael Lapsley Alan Michael Lapsley, SSM (born 2 June 1949) is a South African Anglican priest and social justice activist. Personal life Alan Michael Lapsley was born on 2 June 1949 in New Zealand. He was ordained to the priesthood in Australia where ...

, Anglican priest and social activist, arrives in Lesotho after his visa was not renewed in South Africa. ;October * 26 –

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ba ...

gains independence from

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

. ;Unknown date * Umkhonto we Sizwe's central operations headquarters is established and the process of establishing training camps in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

begins with the establishment of Gabela Training Camp.

Births

* 16 January – Jonathan Solomons, South African football player * 20 January – Ian Syster, long-distance runner (d. 2004) * 30 January –

Kaya Malotana Kayalethu Malotana (born 30 January 1976 in Lady Frere) is a South African former rugby union player, current coach & a Xhosa commentator in rugby. He was educated at Queen's College Boys' High School where he matriculated in 1994 and received ...

, former rugby player & tv rugby analyst * February – Johan Thom, visual artist * 9 February – Colin Moss, actor and TV host * 22 February –

Faan Rautenbach Stefanus Johannes "Faan" Rautenbach (born 22 February 1976) is a former rugby union footballer who played at prop for London Irish, and the . Rautenbach played 14 Tests for the Springboks including a try on debut against Wales in 2002, ending ...

, rugby player * 2 March – Gaffie du Toit, rugby player * 5 March –

Wayne Denne Wayne Denne (born 5 March 1976 in Cape Town, Western Cape) is a field hockey player from South Africa, who was a member of the national squad that finished tenth at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He made his international debut for his nati ...

, field hockey player * 11 March –

Black Coffee (DJ) Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo (born 11 March 1976), better known by his stage name Black Coffee, is a South African DJ, record producer and songwriter. Coffee established his own record label Soulistic Music, and released his debut self-titl ...

, DJ and record producer * 30 March – Chantal Botts, badminton player * 31 March –

Thandiswa Mazwai Thandiswa Nyameka Mazwai (born 31 March 1976) is a South African musician, and is also the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bongo Maffin. She is also known as King Tha. Her debut album ''Zabalaza'' (2004), which attained double platinum status ...

, singer & songwriter * 2 April –

Rory Sabbatini Rory Mario Trevor Sabbatini (born 2 April 1976) is a South African-Slovak professional golfer. Sabbatini won six times on the PGA Tour between 2000 and 2011 and was runner-up in the 2007 Masters. He spent 21 weeks in the world top-10 in late-2 ...

, golfer * 5 April – David Staniforth, field hockey goalkeeper * 20 April – Calvin Marlin, football player * 25 April – Breyton Paulse, rugby player * 19 May –

Zuluboy Mxolisi Mgingqeni Majozi (born May 19, 1976) also known as Zuluboy is a South African actor and musician from Ntuzuma, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has worked with legendary South African hip hop artists, most of whom he drew inspiration fr ...

, rapper & actor * 12 June – Stewart Carson, badminton player * 3 July –

Bobby Skinstad Robert Brian Skinstad (born 3 July 1976) is a former rugby union professional player who has represented the South African national team, the Springboks. He played in the positions of flanker and number eight. Education Skinstad lived in Kloof ...

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

captain * 1 August – Lucky Lekgwathi, football player * 24 August –

DJ Tira Mthokozisi Khathi (born August 24, 1976), professionally known by his stage name DJ Tira, is a South African DJ, record producer and Kwaito artist. He helped popularize the Gqom music genre. Khathi won the Smirnoff SA DJ Knockout competit ...

, DJ, Record Producer and Businessman, founder of Afrotainment * 11 September –

Vuyo Dabula Vuyo Dabula (born 11 September 1976) is a South African model, actor and bodybuilder. He is best known for his role as Shandu Magwaza in the Netflix crime drama, '' Queen Sono''. Early life He studied at P.H Moeketsi Agricultural High where he ...

, actor * 13 September – Linda Sokhulu, actress * 3 October –

Carl Beukes Carl Beukes (born 3 October 1976) is a South African actor best known for his roles as Paul McPherson in ''Isidingo'' and as the archangel Gabriel in ''Dominion''. Beukes is a graduate of The National School of the Arts, where he studied Speech ...

, actor * 14 October –

Tokollo Tshabalala TKZee is a South African kwaito music group formed in 1990s by three school friends, Tokollo Tshabalala, Kabelo Mabalane, and Zwai Bala. The group shot to prominence in late 1997 and early 1998 with their chart-topping singles "Phalafala" and ...

Kwaito Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of h ...

musician, most well-known for being a member of music group

TKzee TKZee is a South African kwaito music group formed in 1990s by three school friends, Tokollo Tshabalala, Kabelo Mabalane, and Zwai Bala. The group shot to prominence in late 1997 and early 1998 with their chart-topping singles "Phalafala" and ...

* 3 December – Mark Boucher, cricketer * 15 December – Kabelo Mabalane, Kwaito musician, TV personality & Pastor * 30 December –

Ashley Callie Ashley Callie (30 December 1976 – 15 February 2008) was a South African actress, best known for her role as Leone Haines in ''Isidingo'' (2000–08). She died on 15 February 2008, as a result of head injuries from a head-on car collision in ...

, actress (d. 2008)

Deaths

* 19 March – Stuart Cloete, novelist, essayist and biographer (b. 1897) * 26 April –

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...

, South African-born British actor (b. 1913) * 16 June –

Melville Edelstein Dr Melville Leonard Edelstein (1919June 16, 1976) was born to Nachum and Rose Edelstein in King William's Town. His Litvak parents had first travelled to the UK and then Cape Town in 1896 before joining the masses of " boere-Jode" frikaner or fa ...

, sociologist, killed due to Soweto uprising (b. 1919) * 16 June –

, Soweto uprising casualty (b. 1961) * 16 June –

, Soweto uprising casualty (b. 1963) * 9 September –

Ivan Mitford-Barberton Ivan Mitford-Barberton (1896–1976) was a sculptor, writer and authority on heraldry. Early life and education Mitford-Barberton was born in Somerset East, in Cape Colony, in 1896. He was a descendant of several 1820 Settler families. His g ...

, sculptor, writer and herald (b. 1896) * 6 November – Sydney Skaife, entomologist and naturalist (b. 1889)

Railways

Locomotives

Three new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the

South African Railways Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...

: * March – The first of one hundred Class 35-400 General Electric type U15C diesel-electric locomotives.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 * September – The first of one hundred Class 35-600 General Motors Electro-Motive Division type GT18MC diesel-electric locomotives. * The first of one hundred Class 6E1, Series 6 electric locomotives.

References

{{Africa topic, 1976 in, state=collapsed

Years in South Africa History of South Africa