Historical Organization
South African Police
South African Police
Details
Organization Timeline
Police carry out the Bulhoek Massacre
📅 24 May 1921Police attacked the Israelites at Ntabelanga near Bulhoek after the religious community resisted eviction. At least 160 people were killed and many more wounded or arrested.
Police begin the forced removal of Sophiatown
📅 9 February 1955Armed police supervised the removal of families from the multiracial Johannesburg neighbourhood to racially designated areas. Homes were demolished under the Group Areas Act.
Police arrest Congress Alliance leaders for treason
📅 5 December 1956Police raids across the country led to the arrest of 156 activists of different racial backgrounds. The resulting Treason Trial attempted to criminalize the Freedom Charter movement.
Police carry out the Sharpeville Massacre
📅 21 March 1960Police opened fire on an unarmed anti-pass gathering at Sharpeville, killing 69 people and wounding about 180. The massacre transformed resistance inside South Africa and international opposition to...
Police shoot anti-pass protesters in Langa
📅 21 March 1960Police violence also struck the anti-pass protest at Langa near Cape Town. Two people were killed and dozens wounded, placing Langa within the same national wave of resistance and repression as...
Police temporarily suspend enforcement of pass laws
📅 27 March 1960Overcrowded jails and mass defiance forced the police commissioner to suspend pass-law enforcement temporarily. The announcement revealed the practical power of collective resistance.
The apartheid government declares a state of emergency
📅 30 March 1960The government imposed emergency rule across major urban areas and detained more than 2,000 people, using exceptional powers to suppress the expanding anti-pass movement.
Poqo members clash with police in Langa
📅 16 March 1962The confrontation reflected the growth of underground armed resistance after the PAC was banned. A policeman was killed and several others injured.
The Paarl Revolt is suppressed
📅 22 November 1962Poqo members marched from Mbekweni toward Paarl to attack state institutions and free detainees. Police clashes killed activists and led to wide arrests and executions.
Looksmart Ngudle dies in detention
📅 5 September 1963Ngudle died after being held by the Security Branch. The state claimed suicide; his death became an early symbol of abuse and secrecy in political detention.
Detention without trial is extended to 180 days
📅 25 June 1965The Criminal Procedure Act doubled the detention period and allowed renewal, deepening the state's capacity to isolate and interrogate political opponents.
Police shoot striking miners at Western Deep Levels
📅 11 September 1973Police killed eleven miners and injured twenty-seven during a wage confrontation, exposing the violence sustaining racial labour exploitation.
Students launch the Soweto uprising
📅 16 June 1976Thousands of school students marched against compulsory Afrikaans instruction and Bantu Education. Police opened fire, killing Hector Pieterson, Hastings Ndlovu and others, and the revolt spread...
Resistance and police repression intensify in Soweto
📅 17 June 1976The uprising continued as young people and residents confronted police and symbols of apartheid authority. News of the killings drove solidarity protests elsewhere.
The youth uprising spreads across Cape Town townships
📅 11 August 1976Protests and clashes reached Langa, Nyanga and Guguletu as young people in the Western Cape joined the national revolt against Bantu Education and apartheid rule.
Resistance erupts again in Soweto
📅 17 October 1976Renewed confrontation showed that the June uprising had developed into a sustained challenge involving schools, workers and township communities.
Steve Biko is detained again
📅 21 March 1977Security police re-arrested Biko under apartheid security laws as the state intensified repression of Black Consciousness after the 1976 uprising.
Steve Biko is arrested near Grahamstown
📅 18 August 1977Biko was detained at a roadblock while travelling despite his banning order. He was taken into security police custody and interrogated.
Steve Biko dies in police custody
📅 12 September 1977Biko died from severe brain injuries after assault and neglect by security police. His killing drew worldwide condemnation and exposed torture in detention.
The Silverton Siege takes place
📅 25 January 1980Three MK members, pursued by police, entered a Pretoria bank and took hostages. A police assault killed the three combatants and two civilians.
Neil Aggett dies in detention
📅 5 February 1982The trade-union organizer died after prolonged Security Branch interrogation. His death triggered protests and a major labour funeral.
The Vaal uprising begins
📅 3 September 1984Township residents protested rent increases and illegitimate Black local authorities. Police violence helped turn the revolt into a national period of insurrection.
Police carry out the Langa Massacre in Uitenhage
📅 21 March 1985Police fired on people marching to a funeral on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sharpeville, killing at least twenty according to official findings.
The government declares a partial state of emergency
📅 20 July 1985Emergency rule in 36 districts expanded detention, curfew and censorship powers in response to sustained township resistance.
Police carry out the Trojan Horse killings
📅 15 October 1985Hidden police opened fire from a railway truck in Athlone, killing young residents and exposing covert tactics used against township protest.
A nationwide state of emergency is imposed
📅 12 June 1986The government introduced extensive detention, censorship and security powers across the country before the tenth anniversary of the Soweto uprising.
Police kill demonstrators at Sebokeng
📅 26 March 1990Police opened fire on a protest against rent increases and apartheid local authorities, killing people during the fragile opening toward negotiations.
The ANC demands removal of police implicated in violence
📅 28 January 1991The movement gave De Klerk a list of officers it believed had participated in township attacks, making state accountability central to negotiations.