14 June 1986
Magoo's Bar bombing in Durban
MK operative Robert McBride detonated a car bomb outside Magoo's Bar and the Why Not Bar on Durban's beachfront, killing three women and injuring 73 people.
View in timelineOn 14 June 1986, MK operative Robert McBride planted a car bomb outside Magoo's Bar and the adjacent Why Not Bar on Durban's beachfront. The explosion killed three women and injured 73 people.
The bars were reportedly targeted because off-duty security personnel were believed to frequent them. The operation nevertheless struck a civilian leisure venue, and the vast majority of those harmed were ordinary patrons and passers-by. The TRC found the deaths and injuries to be gross human-rights violations.
Significance
The bombing became one of the most contested MK operations because a claimed security-force target was a civilian venue in which the overwhelming burden of harm fell on ordinary people.
Why it matters
The bombing became one of the most contested MK operations because a claimed security-force target was a civilian venue in which the overwhelming burden of harm fell on ordinary people.
Disputed interpretations
MK intelligence indicated that off-duty security personnel used the bars, but the TRC found that the attack caused gross human-rights violations through civilian deaths and injuries.