1980 in South Africa

• State President: Marais Viljoen. • Prime Minister: P.W. Botha. • Chief Justice: Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff. ==Events==

;January • 12 – The British Sports Council begins a fact-finding tour to investigate racial discrimination in South African sport. • 14 – The local community at Soekmekaar resists forced removal and damages the police station. • 25 – Four Umkhonto we Sizwe fighters kill two civilians and hold bank staff and customers hostage in Silverton. ;March • 12 – The Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk and its three sister churches announce that they have no objection to reconsideration of the Immorality- and Mixed Marriages Acts. • 12 – Nine people are sentenced to imprisonment for training as guerrillas and recruiting others. • 26 – A mine lift cage at the Vaal Reefs gold mine falls , killing 23. • Two insurgents are killed by police in Bophuthatswana while another escapes. ;April • 4 – Umkhonto we Sizwe attacks the Booysens Police Station in Johannesburg with grenades, rocket launchers and AK47s. • 21 – Over 60 coloured high schools, teacher training colleges and the University of the Western Cape begin class boycotts. • 29 – In Johannesburg hundreds of coloured school children are arrested in terms of the Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956. ;May • 2 – Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall is banned for fear that it may become a song of liberty by black pupils. • 6 – Thozamile Botha, a Port Elizabeth activist, breaks his banning order and escapes to Maseru, Lesotho. • 25 – The South African Defence Force attacks the town of Chifufua in Angola during Operation Sceptic. ;June • 1 – Bombs explode at Sasol One and Two and Natref Eight at Sasolburg and Secunda, with no injuries and RM58 damage. • 4 – Patrick Makau, Umkhonto weSizwe member, and his child die in a bomb attack in Manzini, Swaziland. • Expelled African National Congress official Tennyson Makiwane is shot dead. ;August • Special Branch policeman Detective-Sergeant T.G. Zondi is shot at in Sobantu Village. ;September • 3 – Zimbabwe breaks diplomatic and consular relations with South Africa but maintains a commercial mission in Johannesburg. ;October • 14 – The Soweto community calls for a stayaway to protest against rent increases. • 15 – A bomb damages a railway line in Dube, Soweto and Minister Piet Koornhof visits the scene. • 29 – Umkhonto we Sizwe insurgents throw grenades into the West Rand Administration Board buildings, injuring two. • 30 – A bomb explodes at the Transkei consul's residence in Port Elizabeth, with no injuries. ==Births==

• 1 January – Megan McKenzie, model, voted South Africa's sexiest woman by readers of FHM in 2003, ranking behind only Halle Berry, sister of cricketer, Neil McKenzie. • 4 January – Justin Ontong, cricketer • 4 January – BJ Botha, rugby player • 10 February – Gabriel Temudzani, actor • 5 March – Brent Russell, rugby player • 20 March – Surprise Moriri, football player • 24 March – Conrad Jantjes, rugby player • 14 May – Joe Van Niekerk, rugby player • 19 May – Moeneeb Josephs, football player • 6 June – Mmusi Maimane, politician and former Democratic Alliance leader • 20 June – Kim Engelbrecht, actress best known for her portrayal of Lolly de Klerk on the SABC 3 soap opera; Isidingo • 27 June – Kevin Pietersen, cricketer • 3 July – Roland Schoeman, swimmer • 11 July – Jabu Mahlangu, football player • 27 August – CJ van der Linde, rugby player • 8 September – Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, olympics middle distance runner silver medalist (d. 2014) • 14 September – Hip Hop Pantsula, motswako rapper (d. 2018) • 16 September – Mbulelo Mabizela, football player • 24 September – Tanit Phoenix, model, actress, and makeup artist • 12 August – Karin Kortje, singer • 8 October – Cristina Boshoff, folk pop singer & pianist • 9 October – Thami Tsolekile, cricketer • 3 November – René Kalmer, long-distance runner • 9 November– Benson Mhlongo, football player • 11 November – Shashi Naidoo, TV presenter & actress • 15 November – Kabamba Floors, rugby player • 25 November – Aaron Mokoena, football player • 25 November – Alviro Petersen, cricketer ==Deaths==

• 24 February – Clement Martyn Doke, linguist. (b. 1893) • 13 March – Lilian Ngoyi (Mma Ngoyi), dressmaker, activist and trade unionist. (b. 1911) • 9 May – Kate Molale, activist. (b. 1928) • 12 June – Billy Butlin, South African–born Canadian holiday camp entrepreneur. (b. 1899) • 7 July – Johannes Meintjes, artist and writer. (b. 1923) • 23 September – Jim Fouché, second State President. (b. 1898) ==Railways==

Locomotives Three new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways: • August – The first of 101 Class 36-200 General Motors Electro-Motive Division SW1002 diesel-electric locomotives. • The first of fifty 25 kV AC Class 7E1 electric locomotives on the Richards Bay coal line. ==Sports==

Athletics • 11 October – Thompson Magawana wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:12:50 in Faure. Motorsport • 1 March – The South African Grand Prix takes place at Kyalami. Rugby • 10 May – The British and Irish Lions begin an 18-match tour of South Africa despite protests from anti-apartheid groups. The tourists lose three of the four Tests. ==References==