← 1995 1994 1993 1996 in South Africa → 1997 1998 1999
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	1996 in South African sport List of years in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1996 in South Africa.

Incumbents

• President: Nelson Mandela.^[1]
• Deputy President: F.W. de Klerk (until 30 June) along with Thabo Mbeki.
• Chief Justice: Michael Corbett then vacant.

Cabinet

The Cabinet, together with the President and the Deputy President, forms part of the Executive.

National Assembly

Provincial Premiers

• Eastern Cape Province: Raymond Mhlaba
• Free State Province: Mosiuoa Lekota (until 18 December), Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri (since 18 December)
• Gauteng Province: Tokyo Sexwale
• KwaZulu-Natal Province: Frank Mdlalose
• Limpopo Province: Ngoako Ramathlodi
• Mpumalanga Province: Mathews Phosa
• North West Province: Popo Molefe
• Northern Cape Province: Manne Dipico
• Western Cape Province: Hernus Kriel

Events

January

• 15 – King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho is killed in a car accident.

February

• 26 – South Africa and Algeria restore diplomatic ties.
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in his capacity as Grand President of the British Commonwealth Ex-Services League, visits South Africa.

March

• 11 – The trial of General Magnus Malan and 19 co-accused begins in the Durban Supreme Court.
• 19 – President Nelson Mandela is granted a divorce from Winnie Mandela in the Rand Supreme Court.
• 23 – Approximately 6,000 Inkatha Freedom Party supporters armed with fighting sticks, spears, clubs and battle axes rally in the Tugela Ferry area of KwaZulu-Natal in defiance of a national ban on traditional weapons.

April

• 15 – The Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins its formal hearings.

May

• 2 – South Africa and China exchange letters granting each other most-favoured-nation status.
• 8 – South Africa's new constitution is adopted by the Constitutional Assembly.
• 9 – The National Party withdraws from the coalition government, giving the African National Congress full political control.

June

• 19 – Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina Gonzalez visits South Africa.

July

• Nelson Mandela visits the United Kingdom on a state visit.

August

• 4 – Rashaad Staggie, Hard Livings gang leader, is killed by the vigilante group People Against Gangsterism and Drugs.^[2]
• Mimi Coertse receives the highest accolade an artist can receive from the Austrian government, the Oesterreichishe Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst.

September

• 6 – The Constitutional Court delivers judgment on the new constitution.
• 11 – A mining agreement on wages and working conditions is signed between the Chamber of Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers.

October

• 11 – The constitution is amended by the Constitutional Assembly.
• 30 – Colonel Eugene de Kock of the South African Police is sentenced to 212 years in prison.
• General Magnus Malan and 19 co-accused are acquitted on all charges relating to the massacre of 13 people in KwaMakhuta township south of Durban in 1987.
• The first South African National Census since the end of apartheid is held.

December

• 4 – A number of agreements relating to culture, double taxation, fiscal evasion and a memorandum of understanding relating to defence equipment are signed by Thabo Mbeki, Deputy President of South Africa, on a state visit to India.
• 10 – The new constitution is signed into law.

Unknown date

• Trevor Manuel is appointed Minister of Finance.
• Paraffin Safety Association of Southern Africa is founded.

Births

• 17 February – Sasha Pieterse, actress
• 1 March – Jane de Wet, actress
• 3 March – Andile Phehlukwayo, cricketer
• 5 March – Kirsten Beckett, artistic gymnast
• 29 March – Lungi Ngidi, cricketer
• 22 April – Ilze Hattingh, tennis player
• 22 April – Herschel Jantjies, rugby player
• 26 May – Lara Goodall, cricketer

Deaths

• 15 January – King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho. (b. 1938)
• 28 March – Siegfried Mynhardt, actor. (b. 1906)
• 16 December – Laurens van der Post, author and political adviser. (b. 1906)

Sports

Bafana Bafana wins African Cup of Nation that was organized in South Africa by winning 2-0 against Tunisia in the final.

Athletics

• 25 February – Josia Thugwane wins his second national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:11:46 in Pinelands.