Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(S.Afr. black) a member of the black middle class, a black ‘white-collar’ worker and regarded as a social climber.

1963		B. Modisane Blame Me on Hist. (1986) 94: The educated African is resented equally by the blacks because he speaks English, which is one of the symbols of white supremacy, he is resentfully called a Situation, something not belonging to either, but tactfully situated between white oppression and black rebellion.
1977		J. Sikakane Window on Soweto 9: The ghetto dwellers generally refer to Dube Township as the home of ‘Situations’ because it is [...] the place of the ‘excuse-me’s’.
1982		M.V. Mzamane Children of Soweto 11: It was one way of keeping out the township’s riff-raff, who [...] considered jazz as music for ‘situations’, meaning those who like to situate themselves above ordinary folk.