PW Botha Declares a State of Emergency – 20 July 1985

PW Botha Declares a State of Emergency – 20 July 1985 Exactly forty years ago, on 20 July 1985, at a press conference in Pretoria, apartheid President P.W. Botha claimed…

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The Arrest and Trial of Robert McBride

The Arrest and Trial of Robert McBride On 19 July 1986, Matthew le Cordier, who accompanied Robert McBride and Greta Apelgren during the car bomb explosion at the “Magoo’s” and…

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A Hero of the Revolution: Peter Sello Motau (aka “Paul Dikeledi”)

A Hero of the Revolution: Peter Sello Motau (aka “Paul Dikeledi”) This year, Peter Sello Motau (aka “Paul Dikeledi”), would have been 70 years old, a veteran of the African…

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The Callous Murder of Cassius Maake and Paul Dikeledi

The Callous Murder of Cassius Maake and Paul Dikeledi On 9 July 1987, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Regional Chief of Operations, Paul Dikeledi (real name Peter Sello Motau) welcomed the…

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The MJK Unit and the Arrest of the Special Operations Dutch Couple

The MJK Unit and the Arrest of the Special Operations Dutch Couple On 29 June 1985, the media reported that Hélène Passtoors was arrested on the corner of Pritchard and…

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Jeanette Schoon and Daughter Killed By a Letter Bomb – 28 June 1984

Jeanette Schoon and Daughter Killed By a Letter Bomb – 28 June 1984 On 28 June 1984, former member of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), Jeanette Schoon,…

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African National Congress Reaction to the 1988 Piet Retief Ambushes

African National Congress Reaction to the 1988 Piet Retief Ambushes On 15 June 1988, following the June 8 and 12 Piet Retief ambushes, the African National Congress (ANC) launched an…

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Forty Years of the 1985 Botswana Massacre: The Victims were Very ‘Soft’ Targets

Forty Years of the 1985 Botswana Massacre: The Victims were Very ‘Soft’ Targets (Adapted from an Article by a Sechaba Special Correspondent, August 1985). On the night of 14 June…

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