The following lists events that happened during 1977 in South Africa. Incumbents State President: Nico Diederichs. Prime Minister: John Vorster. Chief Justice: Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff. Events January 8 – The railway line near Soweto is maliciously damaged. February 1 – KwaZulu is granted self-governance. 24 – A bomb explodes at the Daveyton Police Station, causing only superficial damage. March 5 – British Formula One driver Tom Pryce dies during the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami when his car strikes and kills marshal Frederik Jansen van Vuuren. 7 – A Pretoria restaurant is destroyed by a bomb. April 1 – Pik Botha, South Africa's ambassador in the United States of America, is appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs. June 4 – Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa is served a 5-year restriction order. 15 – Monty Motlaung and Solomon Mahlangu, two Umkhonto we Sizwe cadres, kill two civilians and are arrested. 29 – The United Party is renamed the New Republic Party. July 15 – The railway line at Umlazi in Durban is maliciously damaged. 29 – The Antipolis, a Greek oil tanker, runs aground on the rocks near Victoria Road in Oudekraal, Cape Town. August A Soviet surveillance satellite detects South Africa's nuclear test preparations and alerts the United States. Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko is detained for breaking a banning order. September 23 – The Netherlands suspends its cultural agreement with South Africa. November 4 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 418 places a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa. 25 – Fourteen people are injured when a bomb explodes at the Carlton Centre. 30 – A bomb explodes on a Pretoria-bound train. 30 – A whites only general election is held. The National Party wins. The railway at Dunswart (Boksburg) and Apex (Benoni) is maliciously damaged and a train driver is slightly injured. December 12 – Guerrillas attack the Germiston police station. 14 – A bomb explodes at the Benoni railway station. 16 – The Venpet-Venoil collision between two supertankers occurs off the coast of Cape St. Francis. 22 – An unexploded bomb is found in OK Bazaars in Roodepoort. Unknown date Former members of the United Party join the Progressive Reform Party, which is renamed the Progressive Federal Party. Cedric Mayson, a Methodist minister, is banned for 5 years. Births 20 January – Paul Adams (cricketer), cricketer 21 January – Bradley Carnell, football player 30 January – Khumbudzo