The Church Street bombing was a car bomb attack on 20 May 1983 by Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), in Pretoria. The bomb exploded on Church Street at 4:30pm on a Friday. The bombing killed 19 people and wounded 217.
The Church Street bombing attack was commanded by Aboobaker Ismail, authorized under the leadership of Oliver Tambo and Joe Slovo, with the knowledge and approval of Nelson Mandela. The Church Street bombing murdered both black and white people, and far more civilians than police or military.