On 17 September 1995, the Roman Catholic’s Pope John Paul II celebrated a papal mass in South Africa as he began his six day tour of Africa. His visit to the country came seven years after the cleric angered the apartheid government when he refused to kiss the ground in 1988 when the papal plane he was travelling in was forced to land in the country because of bad weather conditions. During his visit in 1995, the Pope said: "Today my journey brings me to a new South Africa, a 'rainbow nation,' indicating the diversity of races, ethnic groups, languages and culture which characterize it." Four orphans representing different South African ethnic groups presented the Pope with a basket of earth as he stepped off the papal plane. The State President Nelson Mandela said: "To say this visit is long overdue is to pay tribute to your own abhorrence of the system of apartheid," The main objective of his visit to the African continent was to present a papal document outlining the Roman Catholic Church's future on the continent.

The South African Prime Minister, P.W. Botha lashed out on the Buthelezi Commission of Inquiry concerning the future of Natal. Botha said that the National Party (NP) won’t serve on the Commission.  Chief Buthelezi said the Prime Minister had told him the government was clear in its stance to the terms of reference to the Buthelezi Commission of Inquiry. The NP government acknowledged his right to institute a commission of inquiry into the future of Natal and would be supportive of genuine and responsible political efforts seeking to establish new constitutional machinery in his state.

The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was formally revived in 1971 after a long period of inactivity due to the harassment of its leaders by the apartheid government. It was formed in 1894 by Mahatma Gandhi with the objective of fighting discrimination against Indian Traders in Natal. It was also the first of the Indian Congresses to be formed. The NIC led to the formation of other anti apartheid movements like the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC), the Cape Indian Congress (CIC) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). After the banning of the African National Congress (ANC), both the NIC and the TIC were disbanded and their leaders became active in ANC underground formations. The move to re-launch the NIC was led by Mewa Ramgobin, husband of Ela Gandhi (granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi). Ramgobin had a long history of activism, from his leadership of the Univeristy of Natal’s SRC to his banning in 1965 by the apartheid government. One of the motions he promoted was the appointment of Chief Albert Luthuli as honorary president of NUSAS (the Natal Union of African Students). One of the issues suggested as a catalyst for the NIC revival was a press statement which highlighted the possible declaration of the Grey Street area as an Indian commercial group area for business & light industry, potentially leaving many Indian market tenants in the area vulnerable. The reinstatement of the NIC was partly aimed at preventing the state from co-opting the Indian middle class through such methods as the suggested Grey Street rezoning. Though there were protests against the reinstatement of the NIC by those who felt that the movement was too racialized, the organisation was re-launched with much support.

Marlise Joubert was born in Elim, Limpopo and grew up in Warmbath (Bela Bela). She studied at the University of Pretoria where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Librarianship and Philosophy. After her studies she worked as a journalist and a Librarian. Joubert, who now lives in Stellenbosch, writes poems, short stories and also paints. Her poems and short stories have been published on the internet. Joubert is the webmaster of Versindaba, a collective website for Afrikaans poetry. She has made a name for herself as a painter and describes her paintings as a continuation of her poetry. Joubert is married to Afrikaans poet Louis Esterhuizen and has a son and a daughter from her first marriage.

Charles Eugene Pat Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who was one of the biggest names in the fifties. He was the only artist whose popularity rivaled that of king of rock and roll, Elvis Priestley. Boone was also a good actor and writer. A devout Christian, he was very selective of the roles that he portrayed and would have had no qualms with turning down a role if he felt that it would compromise his religious beliefs.  In 1961, Boone came to South Africa for a 10 day tour.  In later life he switched from rock and roll to gospel and country music. By the 1970’s he was singing Gospel exclusively. Now in his late seventies,he still performs at art centers and fairs.

Oliver Kgadime(Phukubjane) Matsepe is a novelist and poet   who was twice awarded the S.E. Mqhayi Prize by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for Arts and Science). He was born in the Groblersdal District on 22  March 1932. He received his education in various mission schools in Northrern Transvaal (now Limpopo) and was ultimately baptized in the Lutheran church. For most of his adult life Matsepe worked as a clerk and interpreter for the Department of Bantu Administration and Development. A devout Christian, his religious beliefs were reflected in his books. Matsepe died on 4 October 1974. In the two years prior to his death, he had produced 5 novels and 4 volumes of poetry.

Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures from South Africa's apartheid era, died in a Stellenbosch frail care centre at the age of 82, following a stroke. Early in his life, as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, Koornhof wrote a doctoral thesis that fully accepted the inevitability of black urbanisation. Koornhof was born in Leeudoringstad, in what is currently North West Province, on August 2, 1925. In 2001, Koornhof surprised many of his comrades when he joined the ANC, serving as Member of Parliament.  His eldest son, Dr Gerhard Koornhof, also joined the ANC in 2003.

The presiding judge in the Pretoria terrorist trial, Justice Ludorf convicted the thirty men accused of conspiring to overthrow the South West Africa administration (now known as Namibia). All accused were handed prison sentences ranging from five years to life. Nineteen were sentenced to life imprisonment, while nine and two others were sentenced to twenty and five years respectively. At the time of the trial the country was under South African administration, placed by the League of Nations at the end of the First World War in 1919. In 1990 Namibia became the last country in Africa to gain independence.  

Under orders from Commandant-General Louis Botha, Field-Cornet Jan Potgieter's commando burned Chief Sikhobobo's kraal at Qulusini, looted cattle and grain, and drove the inhabitants towards Vryheid. This attack on the Qulusi was avenged within five days. Sikhobobo informed the magistrate at Vryheid, A. J. Shepstone, that he was taking a party of men outside the town to try to recover some of his stolen cattle. That night a Qulusi impi of 300 men attacked a commando of seventy Boers under Field-Cornet Jan Potgieter laagered at Holkrans (Ntatshana), some twenty kilometres north of Vryheid. The impi surrounded the Boer laager intending to surprise them but a premature shot gave the Boers some warning. Nevertheless the Zulus used the darkness to creep in close, practically wiping out the commando. In this attack 56 Boers, most of them local farmers, were killed and 3 taken prisoner while all the cattle at the camp were driven off. The Zulu impi suffered the loss of 52 killed and 48 wounded.