Wednesday, 30 October 1974
The historic boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman took place on 30 October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo). Ali won the fight when he knocked Foreman out in the eighth round. The event is regarded as one of the greatest sporting events of the 20th century. A film and a documentary have been made about the fight.
Foreman and Ali spent a few months in Zaire training and getting their bodies accustomed to the weather. There was never a rematch between the two boxers. They later became friends.
Wednesday, 30 October 1996
During the apartheid regime, Eugene de Kock was a colonel in the South African Police force. He acted as the commander of a counter-insurgency group located on the outskirts of Pretoria, in an area known as Vlakplaas. De Kock commanded the C1 unit, which functioned as a para-military squad, either executing anti-apartheid activists or forcing them to end their involvement with liberation movements by torturing them. These political executions continued throughout the apartheid regime and intensified during the 1980s when the system began to crumble. At the advent of democracy, those involved in political murders were brought before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). De Kock’s testimonies were heard here, revealing not only his own involvement in ANC deaths, but also the involvement of political leaders of the era, including FW de Klerk, whom De Kock claims was responsible for ordering multiple political deaths during his term of office.
De Kock was accused of many crimes, one of which was attempting to cover up the involvement of the security police in the murder of four United Democratic Front activists, known as the Cradock Four. His application for amnesty was denied and on 30 October 1996, De Kock was sentenced to 212 years in prison. Although the judge described him as a chilling and revolting agent for apartheid, a psychologist who served on the TRC, Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, stated that De Kock seemed to show remorse during her interviews with him.
Eugene de Kock is currently serving his sentence. Vlakplaas, where he ordered numerous political executions to be carried out, is now used as a centre for research into the use of western and traditional medicines in South Africa.
Thursday, 30 October 1997
South Africa announced that it had completed destroying its stock pile of anti-personnel mines. A total of 261 423 mines were destroyed, while 18 000 were retained for training purposes. Of these, 5 000 were live mines, with the remaining 13 000 retained to be used for training in demining. Anti-personnel mines are landmines designed to injure people rather than to destroy equipment.
In the 1990s, South Africa began to revise its policy on the use of landmines. For instance, in 1994, the former South African government announced a moratorium on the marketing, export and transit of all types of landmines, in line with the UN General Assembly Resolution on landmines. In May 1996, the use of anti-personnel mines was suspended, pending an evaluation of their use as a weapon.
In December 1996, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “An international agreement to ban anti-personnel landmines”. This resolution was supported by 155 countries, including South Africa. This was followed by a Diplomatic Conference chaired by South Africa in Oslo, Norway, which pushed for an international convention that would ensure a total ban on the manufacture and use of anti-personnel landmines. On 19 February 1997, the South African Cabinet resolved to prohibit, with immediate effect, the use, development, production and stockpiling of anti-personnel landmines. Furthermore, the Cabinet resolved to destroy South Africa’s existing stockpile of anti-personnel landmines.
On 18 September 1997, the Diplomatic Conference adopted the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines, and undertook to encourage their destruction. The Convention was ratified by 81 states and signed by another 133. South Africa began destroying its stockpile of anti-personnel mines before signing the Convention in December 1997. Mozambique and Angola are two Southern African countries most affected by landmines, which were largely supplied by the apartheid government to the rebel movements they sponsored in order to destabilise the regions. An estimated 80 000 Angolans were injured by landmines.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
