Sunday, January 17, 1904
Twenty-eight people drowned when a storm hit Bloemfontein.
References:
• Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau
Wednesday, January 17, 1934
Albert Nzula, teacher, journalist and leader of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), who left SA to study in Moscow in 1931, died in Moscow, USSR. The date is given as 14 January by another source.
References:
• http://www.sacp.org.za/
Tuesday, January 17, 1961
Patrice Lumumba, first and only elected Prime Minister of Congo, was murdered. The killing of Lumumba remained a secret for years. In later years it was alleged that it was sanctioned by the Belgian government and the Dwight Eisenhower administration, acting through the local agents in Congo of the (CIA) and was funded and advised by Brussels and Washington. The circumstances of his death remain a mystery, the identity of his killers unknown. His death is only announced in February. TransAfrica Forum Issue Brief, August 2001).
References:
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau
• http://www.country-data.com/
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Sunday, January 17, 1988
Percy Qoboza, a well-known anti-apartheid journalist, and editor of The World newspaper died in Johannesburg on his fiftieth birthday.
References:
• Sonderling, N.E. (ed.) (1999). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.2, Pretoria: Vista.
• http://www.sahistory.org.za/
Tuesday, January 17, 1989
Mr Sol Kerzner admitted in an affidavit to the Harms Commission that he had paid R2m for the personal benefit of Chief George Matanzima to ensure exclusive casino rights in the Transkei. Mr Kerzner’s co-accused, Mr David Bloomberg, submitted an identical affidavit.
References:
• South African Institute of Race Relations. (1989). Race Relations Survey 1988/89, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 82
Thursday, January 17, 1991
Mandela declared in Lusaka that the ANC would take power by force if it fails to reach agreement with the government.
References:
• Meer, F. (ed)(1993). The Codesa file. Durban: Madiba Publishers, p. 34
Friday, January 17, 1997
In a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) revelation, General Georg Meiring was implicated with more than sixty officers and soldiers in ‘dirty tricks’ including state-sponsored murder. It also suggested that the former President F.W. de Klerk refused to investigate charges against General Meiring and two other generals despite the Steyn commission of enquiry.
References:
• Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.
Sunday, January 17, 1999
Ernie Els won the Alfred Dunhill PGA tournament on the Houghton Club golf course in Johannesburg.
References:
• Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau
Saturday, January 17, 2004
A 32-year-old nurse from Matikwane Hospital near Bushbuckridge, who allegedly injected her stepson with HIV contaminated blood, was arrested and charged with attempted murder.
References:
• The Star, 19 Jan 2004
All information is taken from http://www.sahistory.org.za/this_day/17/01
Bloemfontein Courant/info@bloemfonteincourant.co.za
