South Africa
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- parliamentary republic
- CONSTITUTION
- December 10, 1996 signed by President Mandela and came into effect on February 4, 1997
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Constitutional Court; Supreme Courts of Appeal; High Courts; Magistrates' Courts
RELIGIONS
Christian majority
From the country
- FEBRUARY 11, 2000South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The Botswanan High Court sentenced 49-year old Mariette...
The Botswanan High Court sentenced 49-year old Mariette Bosch, a South African woman, to death
- FEBRUARY 2, 2000South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
A petition calling for the re-introduction of the death...
A petition calling for the re-introduction of the death penalty was handed to Port Alfred magistrate Walter le Grange just before three men accused of the brutal murder of Cape Town businesswoman Brenda Fairhead and her 11-year-old daughter appeared in co
- JANUARY 21, 2000South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Family, friends and members of the community staged...
Family, friends and members of the community staged a demonstration in the grounds outside the Port Alfred Magistrate's Court when brothers Tom and Zolani Bongani appeared in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Brenda Fairhead and her 11-year-old
- JANUARY 20, 2000South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
More than 30 farm workers gathered in front of the...
More than 30 farm workers gathered in front of the Tzaneen District Court and held up placards demanding the death penalty, when seven suspects accused of killing farmer Bill Bouller appeared in court
- JANUARY 1, 2000South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
But there have been calls for its reintroduction in...
But there have been calls for its reintroduction in a country with a murder rate 10 times higher than that of the United States, making it one of the world's most violent places outside a war zone
- JANUARY 1, 2000South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Under white minority rule, the apartheid-era National...
Under white minority rule, the apartheid-era National Party, the New National Party's (NNP) predecessor, executed an average of about 100 people a year in the 1980s, peaking at 187 in 1987 when 21 people were hanged in a single week at Pretoria's notoriou
- JUNE 14, 1999South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
On June 14, Thabo Mbeki was formally elected President...
On June 14, Thabo Mbeki was formally elected President of South Africa by the 400-seat National Assembly, meeting for the first time since the June 2 general election that saw Mandela's African National Congress returned to power for a second 5-year term
- APRIL 28, 1999South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa was a cosponsor of the resolution on the...
South Africa was a cosponsor of the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 28 (1999/61)
- APRIL 28, 1999South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
On April 28, Andrew Ford, leader of the ultra-right-wing...
On April 28, Andrew Ford, leader of the ultra-right-wing Boere Weerstands Beweging (BWB), urged the Freedom Front to stop its calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty
- APRIL 24, 1999South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
On April 24, New National Party leader Marthinus van...
On April 24, New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk challenged Deputy President Thabo Mbeki to publicly debate the issue of the death penalty during their joint television appearance preceding the June 2 elections
- APRIL 19, 1999South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
On April 19, the Inkatha Freedom Party said numerous...
On April 19, the Inkatha Freedom Party said numerous surveys had shown that South Africans, irrespective of race, creed or color, were anxious about crime and believed the death penalty was an option
- APRIL 17, 1999South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
On April 17, South Africa's President-in-waiting Thabo...
On April 17, South Africa's President-in-waiting Thabo Mbeki rejected a return to the death penalty, despite a string of brutal crimes