Skip to main content
Menu
♥ Donate
eventREF E-0096443Revised

Event record

South Africa and the United Kingdom embroiled in a diplomatic crisis

Date
25 Sep 1984
Updated
30 Sep 2019
South Africa and the United Kingdom embroiled in a diplomatic crisis

South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK) faced what was seen as a worst diplomatic crisis because of tension over six dissidents hiding from police in the British Consulate in Durban. The South African government in retaliation for London's refusal to evict the fugitives announced it would not send four South African back to Britain to stand trial on charges of illegal export of arms. It is widely believed that those six dissidents were United Democratic Front (UDF) leaders Archie Gumede, Mewa Ramgobin, Paul David, George Sewpershad, MJ Naidoo and Billy Nair. All those at the consulate except Nair were charged with high treason.

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?
View more events from this day

How we know this

  1. 01O’Malley, P. ‘1984’, from Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, [online], available at www.nelsonmandela.org (Accessed: 28 August 2013)
  2. 02South African History Online, ‘Roelof Frederik ‘Pik’ Botha’, [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za (Accessed: 28 August 2013)
  3. 03South African History Online, ‘Billy Nair’, [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za (Accessed: 28 August 2013)

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, September 20). South Africa and the United Kingdom embroiled in a diplomatic crisis. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096443

South African History Online (2013) 'South Africa and the United Kingdom embroiled in a diplomatic crisis', South African History Online, 20 September. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096443 (Accessed: 1 August 2026).

South African History Online, South Africa and the United Kingdom embroiled in a diplomatic crisis [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096443, (accessed 1 August 2026).

"South Africa and the United Kingdom embroiled in a diplomatic crisis." South African History Online, 20 Sept. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096443. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "South Africa and the United Kingdom embroiled in a diplomatic crisis." South African History Online. September 20, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096443.

Further reading

SAHO is free because readers fund it. Donate →