On 16 June 1976 , demonstrations broke out in Soweto over a government decree that black school-children be educated in Afrikaans instead of English , and after the police fired on the demonstrations , rioting against '' apartheid '' began in Soweto and spread into the greater Johannesburg area . About 575 people , the majority of whom were black , were killed in the Soweto uprising of 1976 . Between 1984 – 86 , South Africa was in turmoil as a series of nationwide protests , strikes and riots took place against '' apartheid '' , and the black townships around Johannesburg were scenes of some of the fiercest struggles between the police and anti- '' apartheid '' demonstrators . The central area of the city underwent something of a decline in the 1980s and 1990s , due to the high crime rate and when property speculators directed large amounts of capital into suburban shopping malls , decentralised office parks , and entertainment centres . Sandton City was opened in 1973 , followed by Rosebank Mall in 1976 , and Eastgate in 1979
Soweto uprising
Soweto uprising
Johannesburg