An unidentified bacteriological agent is found in groundwater and surface water sources in Mozambique. Sources report that the Rhodesian government had deposited the agent to target the black population in the country.
The Civilian Cooperation Bureau, a covert South African unit, is accused of an attempt to infect the water supply of a refugee camp in Dabora, Namibia, with cholera and yellow fever. The attempt is thought to fail due to the high chlorine content in the water.
A major plot to kill millions of black South Africans living in the townships near Johannesburg is discovered by the South African National Intelligence Agency. The attackers are a group of far right-wing white South Africans. Their plans consist of contaminating water supplies by pouring an agricultural chemical into reservoirs that supply four townships.
A water tank at a primary school in Kirinyaga County, Kenya, is vandalized and poisoned. No one was harmed by the poisoned water.
One person is shot and killed after violence erupts between the farmer and herder communities in Kenya where water and land disputes are a driver of conflict.
Cuban and Angolan forces launch an attack on Calueque Dam via land and then air. Considerable damage inflicted on dam wall; power supply to dam cut. Water pipeline to Ovamboland cut and destroyed.
In September 1998, fierce fighting between UNITA and Angolan government forces broke out at Gove Dam on the Kunene River for control of the installation.
In Nigeria’s “Middle Belt,” dozens are killed in tensions between farmers and pastoralists over the use of farmland, grazing fields, and water sources.
Several farmers from Mwatate, Kenya are attacked, one killed, by camel herders after attempts to chase camels from the agricultural land. The camel herders have moved to the area to find land and water for their stock. Farmers are also concerned about the potential spread of disease and pollution of the local water sources from camel feces and urine.
South Africa supports a bloodless coup by Lesotho’s defense forces. Immediately afterward, the two countries agree to share water from the Highlands of Lesotho, following 30 years of unsuccessful negotiations. There is disagreement over the degree to which water was a motivating factor for either party.