# 2009 in South Africa

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The following lists events that happened during 2009 in South Africa.

## Incumbents

* President:
** Kgalema Motlanthe (until 8 May).
** Jacob Zuma (from 9 May).
* Deputy President: Baleka Mbete (until 9 May), Kgalema Motlanthe (starting 9 May).
* Chief Justice: Pius Langa then Sandile Ngcobo.

### Cabinet

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

### Provincial Premiers

* Eastern Cape Province: Mbulelo Sogoni (until 6 May), Noxolo Kiviet (since 6 May)
* Free State Province: Beatrice Marshoff (until 6 May), Ace Magashule (since 6 May)
* Gauteng Province: Paul Mashatile (until 6 May), Nomvula Mokonyane (since 6 May)
* KwaZulu-Natal Province: S'bu Ndebele (until 6 May), Zweli Mkhize (since 6 May)
* Limpopo Province: Sello Moloto (until 3 March), Cassel Mathale (since 3 March)
* Mpumalanga Province: Thabang Makwetla (until 10 May), David Mabuza (since 10 May)
* North West Province: Edna Molewa (until 6 May), Maureen Modiselle (since 6 May)
* Northern Cape Province: Elizabeth Dipuo Peters (until 6 May), Hazel Jenkins (since 6 May)
* Western Cape Province: Lynne Brown (until 6 May), Helen Zille (since 6 May)

## Events
### January

* 8 – The 97th Anniversary of the ANC is celebrated.

### February

* 4 – Jacob Zuma appears in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
* 4 – Jimmy Mohlala, Mbombela Local Council Municipality speaker who had been asked to resign by the ANC following a whistle-blower act which saw Municipal manager Jacob Dladla suspended, is shot dead in his Nelspruit home. His 19-year-old son is wounded in the attack.
* 11 – Trevor Manuel presents the 2009–2010 budget.
* 11 – For the first time in South Africa, court proceedings in a trial are conducted entirely in isiZulu in the municipality of Msinga. The proceedings are part of a pilot project to offer "access to justice for all".

### March

* 3 – South African holidaymakers need visas to enter the United Kingdom.
* 3 – Convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik is released from prison on medical parole.
* 4 – The 14th Dalai Lama's visa application to enter South Africa is refused.
* 12 – The Constitutional Court rules that registered voters living overseas can vote for the National Assembly in the 22 April elections.

### April

* 7 – All charges against Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thint over the South African arms deal are officially withdrawn in the Durban High Court.
* 22 – The 2009 national and provincial elections are held.
* 25 – The Independent Electoral Commission publishes the elections results. The ANC won 65.9% of the vote, The DA won 16.66%.

### May

* 6 – Jacob Zuma is elected president in the South African presidential election.

### June

14 to 28 – The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup takes place in South Africa and is won by Brazil, with the United States as the runner-up.

### July

* 18 – The first Mandela Day is organised on Nelson Mandela's 91st Birthday.
* 19 – Gill Marcus is appointed Governor of the South African Reserve Bank by Jacob Zuma, to replace Tito Mboweni on 9 November.

### September

* 22 – President Jacob Zuma meets with the Paramount leader of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao in New York.
* 22–24 – The United States Embassy and other US government facilities in South Africa are closed because of unspecified security concerns.
* 24 – Airlink Flight 8911 crashes shortly after take-off, killing one and injuring three.

### December

* 8 – Serial killer, serial rapist and criminal Ananias Mathe is sentenced to an effective 54 years in prison for various crimes.
* 12 – The Miss World 2009 pageant takes place Johannesburg.
* 13 – The Miss South Africa 2009 pageant takes place at Sun City.

## Deaths

* 1 January – Helen Suzman, activist and politician. (b. 1917)
* 11 January – Ludumo Galada, boxer. (b. 1982)
* 6 April – Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, politician. (b. 1937)
* 13 October – Winston Mankunku Ngozi, musician. (b. 1943)
* 3 December – Curtis Nkondo, activist, educator, politician and ambassador. (b. 1928)
* 16 December – Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, politician. (b. 1940)
* 31 December – Masego Kgomo, murder victim. (b. c. 1999)

## Railways
### Locomotives

* Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on Transnet Freight Rail (TFR):
** The first of fifty Class 39-200 Electro-Motive Diesel type GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives, built at the Transnet Rail Engineering shops in Koedoespoort.
** The first of 110 new Class 19E dual voltage 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC electric locomotives on the Coalink line from Ermelo to Richards Bay.
* TFR begins rebuilding Class 6E1, Series 2 to 8 locomotives to Class 18E, Series 2 locomotives.