The following lists events that happened during 1988 in South Africa.
Incumbents
State President: P.W. Botha. Chief Justice: Pieter Jacobus Rabie.
Events
January
1 – Nordic countries implement comprehensive sanctions against South Africa and South West Africa which are intended to counteract apartheid. 8 – Jacob Molokwane, activist, is shot dead in his car in Francistown, Botswana. 10 – Six African National Congress cadres are injured in a car bomb explosion in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. 25 – Cadres wound a policeman when they open fire at a police roadblock set up at Ugie. 25 – A Limpet mine explodes at the Kokstad Men's Club opposite the police station. 27 – Cadres open fire on a police vehicle in Soweto and injure three policemen and a civilian. 29 – Linda Brakvis, a United Democratic Front member, is found stabbed 3 days after her release from detention.
February
1 – Three cadres are killed and one injured at a police roadblock in Transkei. 2 – A cadre is killed in a skirmish with police near Mount Fletcher. 3 – The Congress of South African Trade Unions offices in Pietermaritzburg come unter attack by a mob armed with pangas and Assegais. 6 – A policeman is killed in an attack at East London. 10 – Rocky Malebane-Metsing leads a group of dissatisfied members of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force and the National Executive Committee of the People's Progressive Party to stage a coup d'état in Bophuthatswana. 12 – Two municipal policemen guarding an installation are injured when they are attacked by cadres. 12 – A cadre opens fire on a car driven by an ex-Rhodesian soldier, now a private security firm official, in Johannesburg. 14 – The South African Defence Force launches Operation Hooper. Twelve people are injured in a bomb blast at Wits Medical Command administration building in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
March
1 – An explosion in Benoni causes extensive damage to a bus transporting South African Air Force personnel. 7 – A cadre and a civilian are killed by police during a raid in Queenstown, and six policemen are wounded in the raid. 8 – An attack by cadres on the Phiri Hall police mess kills one policeman and wounds 10 others. 12 – A church-led opposition group headed by Desmond Tutu is banned. 14 – A bomb explodes at Johannesburg City Hall, with no injuries. 17 – Mohammed Ichbahl and Aboobaker Ismail set up two bombs at the Krugersdorp magistrate's court adjacent to the local police station. One explodes and kills two South African Defence Force personnel and a civilian while twenty other people are injured. 18 – Insurgents attack a tavern in Atteridgeville frequented by policemen. Three policemen are killed in the attack. 25 – Three cadres are killed by the South African Army at Batavia in the far northern Transvaal. 27 – The Antheas Club in Pietersburg is slightly damaged by a limpet mine which explodes in the back garden. 28 – Four cadres are killed and one injured by the South African Army on an island on the Mutale river. An electrical sub-station in Fort Jackson is damaged when three limpet mines explode.
April
4 – The South African Special Forces Brigade raids an African National Congress insurgent hideout in Gaborone, Botswana, killing four ANC cadres. 7 – A car bomb explodes in Maputo, Mozambique, injuring Albie Sachs, an anti-apartheid lawyer. 9 – A limpet mine explodes near the Atteridgeville Development Board's canteen. 12 – In a Mpumalanga township, police corner a cadre who then kills himself and two policemen with a grenade. Police later kill a second cadre and a policeman is killed and three civilians wounded in the crossfire. 15 – A limpet mine explodes at the Atteridgeville Municipal offices. 15 – A bomb explodes prematurely outside Pretoria's Sterland cinema, killing the terrorist and injuring a bystander. According to the African National Congress the intended target was a nearby government building. There are no government buildings nearby. 19 – An explosion at a private office block less than 100 m from Parliament damages a branch of Santam bank. 22 – A cadre ambushes a municipal police vehicle in Soweto and wounds four policemen and one civilian. 25 – Police Sergeant J.M. Mazibuku is killed by cadres at a bus stop in Newcastle. A bomb explodes at the Johannesburg City Hall, with no injuries.