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2023 in South Africa

← 2022 2021 2020 2023 in South Africa → 2024 2025 2026
Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	List of years in South Africa

Events in the year 2023inSouth Africa.

• President: Cyril Ramaphosa (ANC)
• Deputy President:
  • David Mabuza (ANC) until 28 February
  • Paul Mashatile (ANC) starting 7 March
• Chief Justice: Raymond Zondo
• Deputy Chief Justice: Mandisa Maya
• President of the Supreme Court of Appeal: Xola Petse (acting)
• Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal: Nambitha Dambuza (acting)
• Chairperson of the Electoral Court of South Africa: Boissie Henry Mbha^[1]
• Speaker of the National Assembly: Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula (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): Siviwe Gwarube (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)

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

• 12 January – A truck crashes into several minibus taxis at an intersectioninRoodepoort, Gauteng, killing five people and injuring nine others.^[2]
• 15 January – A light aircraft crashes in Nasrec, Johannesburg, South Africa, killing all three people on board.^[3]
• 27 January – South Africa agrees to send 12 cheetahstoIndia a year for the next 8 to 10 years to help establish a "viable and secure cheetah population" in the wild. The Asiatic cheetah became extinct in India in the 1940s due to hunting and habitat destruction.^[4]
• 29 January – Eight people are killed and three others are injured in a mass shooting at a birthday partyinGqeberha, Eastern Cape.^[5]
• 5 February – South Africa reports imported cases of cholera in two sisters who travelled to Malawi.^[6]
• 14 February – Twenty people are killed and 68 others injured during a head-on collision between a tour bus and an armoured cash-in-transit van in Makhado, Limpopo.^[7]
• 20 March – South Africa prepares for a "nationwide shutdown" as the military is deployed ahead of protests by the Economic Freedom Fighters.^[8]
• 2 June – In February 2023, South Africa experienced a cholera outbreak that grew from 2 initial cases to 99 confirmed cases in Tshwane over the following months. Jubilee Hospital reported 17 deaths. Efforts to contain the outbreak led to a significant decrease in new cases by June 2023.^[9]
• 5 July – 2023 Boksburg gas leak – 17 people, including three children, died in a suspected gas leak in the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg. According to emergency services, the leak appeared to be linked to illegal mining activities.^[10]
• 12 July – Six people were shot dead and four wounded in KwaNobuhle, Eastern Cape, after three men entered the yard of a home and opened fire.^[11]
• 19 July – Ramaphosa announces Russian president Vladimir Putin will not physically attend the BRICs summit next month. As a member of the International Criminal Court, South Africa is obligated to arrest Putin if he shows up.^[12]
• 20 July – A suspected underground gas explosion rips open roads and flips vehicles in Johannesburg, killing one and injuring at least 48.^[13]
• 31 August – A large building fire in the central business district of Johannesburg kills at least 73 people.^[14]
• 1 September – Eighteen people are killed during a shootout between robbers and police in Limpopo.^[15]
• 20 September – Three members of the South African Navy are killed and five others are rescued when large waves hit a submarine near Kommetjie, Western Cape.^[16]
• 28 October – 2023 Rugby World Cup: South Africa wins a record fourth Webb Ellis Cup after defeating New Zealand 12–11 in the final.^[17]
• 30 October – President Cyril Ramaphosa announces the 15th of December as a public holiday in celebration of the sports achievements (2023 Rugby World Cup:South Africa)
• 20 November – Israel recalls its ambassador from South Africa after Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni called on the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.^[18]
• 27 November – Eleven workers are killed and 75 others are injured at an Impala platinum mineinRustenburg, North West, when a lift transporting them to the surface drops approximately 200 metres (660 ft).^[19]
• 29 December – South Africa files the case South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention) against Israel at World Court.^[20]
• 30 December – Flash flooding kills 21 people in KwaZulu-Natal state.^[21]

South Africa has 12 public holidays; if a holiday falls on a Sunday, it is celebrated the following Monday.^[22]

• 8 January – Adriaan Vlok, 85, politician, minister of correctional services (1991–1994).^[23]

• 6 February – John Moeti, 55, South African footballer.
• 10 February – AKA, 35, South African rapper, drive-by shooting.^[24]

• 11 March – Costa Titch, 28, South African rapper.^[25]
• 25 March – Moosa Moolla, 88, Indian South African activist and diplomat.^[26]

• 14 May – Billy Masetlha, 68, South African intelligence officer.

• 5 June – Tina Joemat-Pettersson, 59, South African politician.^[27]
• 10 June – Clive Barker, 78, South African football coach.

• 6 July – Essop Pahad, 84, South African politician.

• 9 August – Doreen Mantle, 97, South African-born British actress (One Foot in the Grave, Jam & Jerusalem, Yentl).^[28]
• 22 August – Derek Watts, 74, South African investigative reporter and the presenter of Carte BlancheonM-Net, lung cancer.

• 9 September – Mangosuthu Buthelezi, 95, South African politician.
• 27 September – Aziz Pahad, 82, South African politician.

• 18 October – Mzwakhe Sibisi, 53, South African politician.^[29]

• 19 November – Hannes Strydom, 58, South African rugby union player.^[30]

• 11 December – Zahara, 36, South African singer and songwriter.^[31]
• 26 December – Alice Mthembu, 64, South African politician, car accident.^[32]
• 27 December – Mbongeni Ngema, 68, South African musician and playwright (Sarafina!, Woza Albert!), car accident.^[33]

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