2025 in South Africa

Events in the year 2025 in South Africa.

Incumbents

President: Cyril Ramaphosa (ANC)
Deputy President: Paul Mashatile (ANC)
Chief Justice: Mandisa Maya
Deputy Chief Justice: Mbuyiseli Madlanga
President of the Supreme Court of Appeal: Mahube Molemela
Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal: Dumisani Zondi
Chairperson of the Electoral Court of South Africa: DH Zondi
Speaker of the National Assembly: Thoko Didiza (ANC)
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly: Annelie Lotriet (DA)
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly: John Hlophe (uMkhonto weSizwe)
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: Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane (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.

6 January – A truck crashes into a minibus and another vehicle on Van Reenen's Pass in KwaZulu-Natal, killing 18 people and seriously injuring an infant.
9 January – One person is killed in a rockfall at the Blyvoor Gold mine near Carletonville.
15 January – At least 78 miners are confirmed dead and 246 others are rescued following the end of protracted rescue efforts at the closed Buffelsfontein mine in North West Province that began in July 2024.
19 January – A bus crashes into a concrete centre barrier along the N2 highway between Nanaga and Makhanda in Eastern Cape, killing five people and injuring six others.
27 January – A fire at the Booysens slum in Johannesburg destroys 1,500 homes and displaces hundreds of residents.
30 January – MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, is arrested on terrorism charges on suspicion of inciting violence on social media that contributed to the 2021 South African unrest.

7 February – US President Donald Trump orders a halt in US aid for South Africa after accusing it of confiscating land under new land laws and for its genocide case against Israel.
15 February – Muhsin Hendricks, described as the world's first openly gay imam, is shot dead in an ambush near Gqeberha.
19 February – The annual presentation of the government budget is abruptly canceled for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994 and is moved to March amid opposition by the Democratic Alliance to a 2% increase in value-added tax proposed by the African National Congress.
23 February – A wildfire breaks out at Table Mountain in Cape Town.

9 March – A bus crashes through a barrier and plunges down an embankment in KwaZulu-Natal, killing nine people and injuring 35 others.
11 March – A bus overturns near O. R. Tambo International Airport, killing 16 people and injuring 35 others.
13 March – South Africa announces the withdrawal of its military contingent from the Southern African Development Community peacekeeping mission to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
14 March – The United States declares South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool persona non grata, accusing him of remarks against Donald Trump.

2 April – The Democratic Alliance votes against the passage of the government budget despite being part of the unity government. The budget passes with support from non-coalition member ActionSA.
10 April – American pastor Joh Sullivan is abducted while conducting a church service in Gqeberha. He is rescued on 14 April following a shootout that leaves three of his kidnappers dead.
14 April – The National Prosecuting Authority reopens an inquest into the death of Nobel laureate and ANC president Albert Luthuli in 1967.
25 April – A wildfire breaks out at Table Mountain in Cape Town, destroying 3,000 hectares of vegetation and prompting the evacuation of 200 residents.
29 April – Five people, including three police officers, are found dead along the Hennops River near Pretoria.

Source:

January 6: Olga Meshoe Washington, 42, attorney.
January 7: Winnie Khumalo, 51, singer and actress.
January 9: Doc Shebeleza, 51, kwaito musician.
January 10: Wynand Havenga, 59, darts player.
January 13: Niel Barnard, 75, director-general of the National Intelligence Service (1979–1992).
March 8: Athol Fugard, 92, playwright, novelist, actor and director.