South African Rail Commuter Corporation, with Spoornet and Metrorail as respective railway operators. 16 – Nelson Mandela thanks the world in the Wembley Stadium, London, for support during his imprisonment. 25 – Dirk Coetzee, former South African Police Commander of the Vlakplaas counter-insurgency unit, testifies at the Harms commission. 28 – Michael Lapsley, an Anglican priest and social activist, loses both his hands and an eye when a letter bomb explodes in his hands. May 1 – Jackie Matjili, Umkhonto we Sizwe member, is shot dead in Thokoza. 2–4 – The Groote Schuur Minute is signed after talks between the South African government and the African National Congress in Groote Schuur, Cape Town. 6 – P.W. Botha resigns from the National Party in protest against State President F.W de Klerk's reform proposals. June 4 – Nelson Mandela starts a thirteen-nation international tour. 5 – Colonel Gabriel Ramushwana, Chairman of the Venda Council for National Unity, announces the lifting of the state of emergency and the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Venda. 7 – State President F.W. de Klerk lifts the state of emergency in South Africa that has been in place for ten years. 13 – Sipho Phungulwa, one of a group of exiles who were held in African National Congress detention camps in Angola, is shot dead in Umtata while trying to seek an audience with the Transkei ANC leadership to expose the hardships they had endured in Angola. Ndibulele Ndzamela, Mfanelo Matshaya and Pumlani Kubukeli will be granted amnesty on 13 August 1998 in connection with this incident. July 14 – The Inkatha Freedom Party is formed when it is transformed from the Inkatha National Cultural Liberation Movement. August 1 – The African National Congress's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, suspends its armed actions after 29 years. 6 – The Pretoria Minute is signed after talks between the South African government and the African National Congress in Pretoria. 12 – Fighting breaks out between the Xhosa people and the Zulu people and more than 500 are killed by the end of August. September 11 – Seven political prisoners are released. 23–25 – State President F.W. de Klerk visits Washington on a state visit. 27 – Fourteen political prisoners are released October 15 – The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act is repealed, ending racial segregation of public facilities. 19 – The National Party opens its membership to