2020 in South Africa

Decades:	2000s; 2010s; 2020s;
See also:	List of years in South Africa;

Events in the year 2020 in South Africa.

Incumbents

President: Cyril Ramaphosa (ANC)
Deputy President: David Mabuza (ANC)
Chief Justice: Mogoeng Mogoeng
Deputy Chief Justice: Raymond Zondo
President of the Supreme Court of Appeal: Mandisa Maya
Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal: Xola Petse
Chairperson of the Electoral Court of South Africa: Khayelihle Kenneth Mthiyane
Speaker of the National Assembly: Thandi Modise (ANC)
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly: Lechesa Tsenoli (ANC)
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly: John Steenhuisen (DA)
Leader of Government Business: David Mabuza (ANC)
Government Chief Whip (of the National Assembly): Pemmy Majodina (ANC)
Opposition Chief Whip (of the National Assembly): Natasha Mazzone (DA)
Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces: Amos Masondo (ANC)
Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces: Sylvia Lucas (ANC)
Leader of the Opposition of the National Council of Provinces: Cathlene Labuschagne (DA)
Chief Whip of the National Council of Provinces: Seiso Mohai (ANC)

Cabinet

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

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

Provincial Premiers

Eastern Cape Province: Oscar Mabuyane (ANC)
Free State Province: Sisi Ntombela (ANC)
Gauteng Province: David Makhura (ANC)
KwaZulu-Natal Province: Sihle Zikalala (ANC)
Limpopo Province: Stanley Mathabatha (ANC)
Mpumalanga Province: Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane (ANC)
North West Province: Job Mokgoro (ANC)
Northern Cape Province: Zamani Saul (ANC)
Western Cape Province: Alan Winde (DA)

Events

January to March

3 February – A court issues an arrest warrant for former president Jacob Zuma on corruption charges. Zuma, 77, is presumed to be in Cuba for medical treatment, but it is unclear when or if he will return to South Africa since the two countries have not signed an extradition treaty. The case will resume on May 6.[1]
5 February – German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in South Africa to discuss trade, investment, and energy issues.[2]
11 February – Former U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden says he and then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young were arrested in Soweto when they tried to visit Nelson Mandela on Robben Island in 1977.[3] Young says he was not arrested in South Africa and doubts Biden was.[4]
19 February – Speaking from Addis Ababa, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserts that land distribution without compensation would be disastrous for South Africa and its people.[5]
21 February – Sixteen children in Zola, Soweto, are hospitalized for eating expired sweets. 39 pupils were hospitalized earlier in the week.[6]
5 March - The COVID-19 pandemic spread to South Africa, with the first confirmed case announced on 5 March 2020 by Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize.[7]
15 March – President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation and announced that there shouldn't be any gathering which is more than 100 people until further notice to avoid the spreading of COVID-19 pandemic.
21 March – Human Rights Day in South Africa
23 March – President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation and announced a 21-day national lockdown effective from midnight 26 March through to 16 April,[8] with the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and South African Police Service (SAPS) to support the government.[8]
27 March – The first person was confirmed to die of COVID-19 case, announced on 27 March 2020 by Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize.

April to June

9 April – the President announced a two-week lockdown extension, until the end of April.[9]
18 April – President Cyril Ramaphosa announces that lockdown restrictions will be gradually eased. Mines can resume work at 50% capacity and the economy is expected to contract by 6.1% this year.[10]
19 April – South African Airways plans to fire all 4,700 employees at the end of April after failing to get any more government subsidies.[11]
23 April – President Ramaphosa's efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic receive praise. South Africa has confirmed 3,953 cases and 75 deaths so far. The government has earmarked 500 billion rand ($26.16 billion), or 10% of national output, to fight the virus, keep businesses afloat and prevent the poor—who make up half the population—from going hungry.[12] South Africa has tested 140,000 people, with nearly 4,000 positive cases and 75 deaths.[13]
26 April
- Cuba sends 200 doctors to South Africa.[14]
- Police Minister Bheki Cele apologised for a "blasphemous" remark made to praying Muslims by a policeman enforcing coronavirus rules. Twenty-four people were arrested in the incident.[15]
27 April – Freedom Day
1 May
- International Workers' Day
- South Africa now enters Level 4 of the national lockdown to ensure the economy can gradually reopen with some easing of other restrictions.[16]
12 June – Femicide is described as a second pandemic as more than 20 women and children are murdered in a matter of weeks.[17]
25 May – Africa Day
16 June – Youth Day

July to September

1 July – COVID-19 pandemic: 159,333 confirmed cases and 2,749 deaths. The worst affected area is Western Cape.[18]
6 July – COVID-19 pandemic: Thousands of students from grades 7 to 12 return to classes after schools were closed for four months due to the coronavirus.[19]
11 July – COVID-19 pandemic: Confirmed cases doubled in two weeks to 250,000 with 3,800 deaths. Public hospitals are short on medical oxygen.[20]
12 July – Four people are killed, six injured, and forty arrested in a hostage situation at the International Pentecostal Holiness Church headquarters in Zuurbekom near Johannesburg.[21]
13 July – COVID-19 pandemic: A 9pm to 6pm curfew and a ban on sales of alcohol are reinstituted. Family and social visits remain banned.[22]
22 July - South Africa's oldest pub, The Perseverance Tavern, closes due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
23 July – More than 17,000 excess deaths from May 6 to July 14 were reported, as compared to data from the past two years, while confirmed COVID-19 deaths have surpassed 6,000. The South African Medical Research Council said the excess deaths could be related to COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, or tuberculosis, although many doctors suspect coronavirus. South Africa now has the world's fifth largest caseload with 408,052 confirmed cases.[23]
25 August – A fire burns the 139-year-old Grey Street mosque in the Durban, South African.[24]
7 September – Members of the Economic Freedom Fighters force the closing of 60 "Clicks" drugstores after the chain displays racist ads.[25]
8 September – The ANC strongly condemns Donald Trump's negative remarks about Nelson Mandela in Disloyal: A Memoir by Michael Cohen. “The mark of a true leader is not how many enemies you create but how many friendships you cultivate, even where strong differences of opinion exist,” said the ANC.[26] The Nelson Mandela Foundation also condemns Trump's remarks.[26]
24 September – Heritage Day (South Africa)

October to December

November 15 – Preacher Shepherd Bushiri and his wife flee to Malawi to avoid a fraud trial.[27]
November 16 – Former president Jacob Zuma testifies before a state commission investigating allegations of corruption from 2009 to 2018.[28]
December 15 – Ace Magashule is asked to step down from the African National Congress after being charged with 21 counts of corruption.[29]
December 18 – COVID-19 pandemic: Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize said scientists had discovered a new variant of virus, called 501.V2 Variant. Nearly 900,000 South Africans have been infected and 20,000 have died.[30]
December 27 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases passes one million.[31]

Scheduled events

16 December – Day of Reconciliation
26 December – Day of Goodwill

Sports

29 November 2019 to 1 February 2020 – 2019–20 CAF Champions League group stage
1 December 2019 to 2 February 2020 – 2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup group stage
17 January to 9 February – 2020 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup
20 to 23 April 2020 – 2020 IIHF World Championship Division III, Cape Town
May TBA – Finals of 2020 African U-17 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament Began January 2020
21 June – Finals of 2020 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament
18 July – The 3TC Solidarity Cup, a charity cricket match with an experimental 3 team format, was played. It marked the return to cricket in the country following the easing of coronavirus related restrictions.[32][33]
8 August to 27 September – 2020 Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
5 October to 12 October – 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification — CAF Second Round
13 October – 2020 MEA Rugby League Championship, Pretoria

Television

14 March – Scheduled date for the 2020 DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Awards