​Photographs of Bombings in South Africa during the 1980's
​Pretoria and Johannesburg

Photographs: Courtesy of Neville Petersen, former South African press photographer.
NOTE BY WEBMASTER:
The photographs displayed on this page were sourced from Facebook and permission was acquired from Neville Petersen to republish them on this website. The photographs are published “as is” without alterations. Bear in mind that these photographs were taken during a time before the existence of digital photography.

With the exception of the Khotso House bombing all photographs depicting the aftermath of bombings were perpetrated by Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), who at the time were the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). Captions and descriptions were compiled by the Webmaster after verifying facts from various online sources. 

Church Street Bomb Incident
Pretoria - 20 May 1983

Hettie Coetzee (57), owner of the Golden Egg Restaurant.
On 20 May 1983 a car with a powerful explosive charge exploded at about four o'clock in the afternoon in front of the Nedbank Square Maritime House in Church Street, Pretoria. It was peak period and a total of 19 people were killed, including 12 civilians and seven Army members. The headquarters of the South African Air Force was on the first, second and third floors of the building. The rest of the thirteen floors were used by civilians. On the ground floor was a cafe and other businesses... Read more>>
Wikipedia

Ciskei Consul General's offices in the Carlton Centre
Johannesburg - 26 August 1983

​A limpet mine explodes at the Ciskei Consul General's offices in the Carlton Centre, Johannesburg, injuring one.
Wikipedia

Southern Transvaal Medical Commando
Hillbrow, Johannesburg - 28 or 30 May 1985

​A limpet mine causes structural damage to the Military Medical Centre in Hillbrow, Johannesburg.
Wikipedia

Wimpy Restaurant in Rissik Street, Johannesburg
24 June 1986

An explosion at 14h00 injures 16 civilians at a Wimpy Bar, Rissik Street, outside President Hotel, Johannesburg; explosion at 14h26 seriously injures five civilians.

Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court
20 May 1987

​Two bombs explode at the Johannesburg magistrate’s court. The first minor explosion acts as a decoy and is followed by a second more powerful charge minutes later. A total of 3 South African Police members lost their lives and a further 15 civilians were injured.
Related content:

Krugersdorp Magistrates' Court
​16 March 1988

​The Krugersdorp Magistrates' Court was considered by MK to be a suitable target as the entrance to the building was used by police and government officials and also because it was close to the entrance of the police station which was adjacent to the building.

Two charges were prepared, the one being a limpet mine and the other a car bomb. The limpet mine was placed in a toilet in the court complex and the car containing the bomb was parked in the close vicinity of the court building. The limpet mine was to act as a decoy, the intention being that it would explode before the car bomb and that police personnel would then come to the scene in numbers and cordon it off from civilians. The car bomb would then explode, killing or injuring mainly police personnel. However, due to some malfunction, the limpet mine did not explode.

The car bomb exploded and three people were killed and twenty people were injured. Two of the people killed were members of the police force. The rest of the casualties were civilians. [Source]

See also: apnews.com

Note: The baby in the pram only suffered minor injuries.
Wikipedia

Ellis Park Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg
​2 July 1988

A car bomb, detonated by Umkhonto we Sizwe, went off a few minutes after the final whistle blew between the Transvaal and Free State rugby teams. Two spectators were killed in the blast with thirty-seven others injured. The bus in the background is the South West Africa's Craven week rugby team's bus. The 100kg bomb, was one of the largest that ever exploded. Ellis Park was apparently chosen as a target as it was in a predominantly White area.
South African History Online

Khotso House Bombing
31 August 1988

Khotso House was the former headquarters of the South African Council of Churches (SACC). The building was damaged extensively by explosives set by members of the Security Branch. Twenty-three people were treated for shock. Former Minister of Law and Order Adriaan Vlok and several senior policemen applied for and were granted amnesty for the bombing.

Related article: Vlok's washing of Max Du Preez's feet meaningless

Sources and further reading:

Vinderbijl Square bus terminus, Johannesburg
September 1988

​A limpet mine explosion at Vinderbijl Square bus terminus in Johannesburg injures 19 civilians.
Note by Webmaster:
It was astonishing to see how many people who viewed this photograph on Facebook, disputed the fact that it was taken in South Africa. The following explanation will hopefully clarify the issue: 

Ambulance personnel and firemen were busy helping the injured when press photographer Neville Petersen arrived on the scene. This specific photograph, including others, were published in The Citizen newspaper on the following day. The uniformed man in the photograph is not a South African policeman but a volunteering member of St John Ambulance. Unlike many volunteer groups, the St John uniform is relatively formal, and is similar to a British Police uniform, for which members are sometimes mistaken. [Source]
Related content:
A special thank you to Neville Petersen for granting permission to publish his photographs on this website.
HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO THE FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE
PUBLIKASIES VAN HISTORIESE BELANG - MET BETREKKING TOT DIE VOORMALIGE SUID-AFRIKAANSE POLISIE