1981 in South Africa
See also: 1980 in South Africa, other events of 1981, 1982 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history.
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Events
February
- Two people are injured when a bomb explodes in a Durban shopping centre
April
- 14 April - A section of railway line between Richards Bay and Vryheid is destroyed by Umkhonto we Sizwe and coal trucks derailed
- 16 April - Bishop Desmond Tutu is arrested and his passport is confiscated
- 21 April - Limpet mines explode as destroy two transformers at a sub-station in Durban
May
- 6 May - The railway in the Hoedspruit area is damaged
- 21 May - A bomb explodes and damages the Port Elizabeth rail link to Johannesburg and Cape Town
- 25 May - A series of actions in support of Republic Day protests are claimed by Umkhonto we Sizwe
- - A pamphlet bomb explodes in Durban
- - The Fort Jackson Police station is attacked
- - The railway line near Soweto is damaged
- - The railway line on the Natal South Coast is damaged
- - The powerlines are cut in Vrede
- 27 May - A bomb explodes in Durban destroying a South African Defence Force recuiting building
June
- 1 June - Three offices of the Progressive Federal Party are firebombed in Johannesburg with no injuries
- 4 June - The police station in Meyerton is attacked by terrorists or freedom fighters
- 11 June - The railway line on the Natal North coast is maliciously damaged
- 16 June - The railway line near East London is maliciously damaged
- 26 June - Two bombes exploded at the Durban Cenotaph
- 28 June - The railway near Empangeni is maliciously damaged
July
- 3 July - A limpet mine found at the fuel storage yard in Alberton is defused
- 21 July - Six bomb explosions at sub-stations in Pretoria, Middelburg, and Ermelo disrupt power supply
- 26 July - Two bombs exploded at 05:50 and 06:10 in central Durban. Three people are injured and extensive damage is caused to motor vehicle firms
August
- 6 August - A bomb explodes in a East London shopping complex minutes before rush hour
- 8 August - A bomb explodes in a Port Elizabeth shopping centre in similar manner to East London bomb
- 11 August - The Voortrekkerhoogte Military Base outside Pretoria is attacked with RPG-7s. Two British citizens, Nicolas Heath and Bonnie Lou Muller, are identified as accomplices in the assault
- 19 August - The railway line near East London is maliciously damaged
September
- 2 September - Two policemen and two civilians (one a child) are killed during an attack on Mabopane Police station
- 12 September - Bomb damages main railway line at Delville Wood near Durban
October
- 10 October - Umkhonto we Sizwe attack government offices of the Department of Co-operation and Development, Four injuries
- 21 October - Umkhonto we Sizwe destroy a transformer in Evander and a water pipeline feeding Sasol III in Secunda
- 26 October - Two policemen are killed during an attack on Sibasa Police station
November
- 1 November - The Jeppes Reef House near the Swaziland border, which is occupied by the South African Defence Force, comes under RPG-7 attack
- 9 November - A bomb explodes at the Orlando Magistrates Court in Soweto
- 12 November - Rosslyn sub-station in Pretoria is damage by 4 limpet mines
December
- 9 December - The offices of Chief Commissioner of the Department of Co-operation and Development in Cape Town is attacked
- 14 December - A Pretoria sub-station is bombed
- 23 December - Eastern Cape provincal buildings in Duncan Village is damaged in a Umkhonto we Sizwe attack
- 26 December The Wonderboompoort Police station is attacked
Unknown date
- Trevor Manuel becomes the General Secretary of the Cape Areas Housing Action Committee
- Bulelani Ngcuka is detained by police for eight months
- A Security Police counter-insurgency unit is started by Dirk Coetzee, Jan Viktor and Jac Buchner at Vlakplaas with 16 police officers
- The South African Defence Force attack guerrilla bases in Angola in Operation Protea
Births
Deaths
- 11 August - Sizwe Khondile, a student activist is killed at Komatipoort by the Vlakplaas counter-insurgency unit
- November - Durban lawyer Griffiths Mxenge is killed by the Vlakplaas counter-insurgency unit