Mahikeng (Tswana for "Place of Rocks"), formerly known asMafikeng[3] and alternatively known asMafeking (/ˈmæfəkɪŋ/,US also/ˈmɑːf-/), is the capital city of theNorth West province of South Africa.[4]
Close to South Africa's border withBotswana, Mafikeng is 1,400 km (870 mi) northeast ofCape Town and 260 km (160 mi) west ofJohannesburg. In 2001 it had a population of 49,300. In 2007 Mafikeng was reported to have a population of 250,000, of which theCBD constituted between 69,000 and 75,000. It is built on the openveld at an elevation of 1,500 m (4,921 ft), by the banks of the UpperMolopo River. The Madibigoldfields are some 15 kilometres (9+1⁄2 miles) south of the town.
Molema's town was founded byMolema Tawana (c. 1822 – January 1882).[5]
In 1857 Molema led an advance guard to scout out the area along the Molopo River. This was a familiar area as they had previously lived in nearby Khunwana. Molema settled a town known in its early years as "Molema's town",[5] while the main body of the Barolong under Montshiwa followed. But Montshiwa did not feel safe at Mafikeng due to the close presence and encroachment of theBoers in theTransvaal. He led his followers to Moshaneng in the territory of the Bangwaketse in present-dayBotswana.
Molema remained at Mafikeng to ensure that the Barolong retained a presence there. Several of Montshiwa's other brothers were also stationed at crucial sites in the proximity of the Molopo. Molema had to use all his diplomatic skills on several occasions to prevent Boer incursion and settlement near Mafikeng. He has been described as a man of "strong personality and exceptional gifts...and Montshiwa's chief counsellor in vital matters". (S.M Molema: 35) After negotiations with Molema, Montshiwa decided to return to Mafikeng in 1876.
Molema was a firm believer in Western education, having attendedHealdtown; he opened a school for the Barolong once they had settled in the district. Molema became a farmer and businessman, as well as advising his brother Montshiwa. He died in 1882. One of his sons, Silas Molema, became a Doctor and historian of the Barolong. (see S.M. Molema). Later British settlers spelled the name as "Mafeking". TheJameson Raid started from Pitsani Pothlugo (or Potlogo) 39 kilometres (24 miles) north of Mafeking on December 29, 1895.
For most of the 19th century (1800s), Mafeking appeared in Southern African maps as a part ofBechuanaland, a territory consisting of Tswana tribal territories, stretching from the Bangwato of Khama in present-day Botswana to the Batlhaping in present-day South Africa'sNorthern Cape andNorth West provinces.
Bechuanaland was ruled by Paramount Chiefs of the Tswana groups such as the Barolong, Bakwena, Bangwaketse, Bahurutshe, Batlhaping and the Bangwato who underSekgoma I andKhama III stretched Tswana lands further north to close to present dayZimbabwe andZambia territories.
The Tswana chieftains had ruled Bechuanaland on the advice of Congregational missionaries of the London Missionary Society, including Robert Moffat who was stationed at Kuruman among the Batlhaping and David Livingstone who was based among Sechele's Bakwena at Kolobeng close to present dayGaborone, Botswana; the Methodist missionaries of the Wesleyan Missionary Society among the Barolong; and the Lutheran Hermannsburg Missionary Society among the Bakwena ba ga Mogopa.
In 1852, the Boers of the Transvaal invaded Bechuanaland but were defeated by a Tswana army led bySechele I (Setshele) of the Bakwena ba ga Sechele at Dimawe in present-day Botswana during theBattle of Dimawe of 1852.
The Boers of the Transvaal would successfully invade Bechuanaland 30 years later in 1882 establishing the Republic of Stellaland and State of Goshen around present day Vryburg and surrounding areas in 1882 to 1883.Stellaland andGoshen unified as the United States of Stellaland in 1883 to 1885.
In response, British Congregational missionary John MacKenzie of the London Missionary Society stationed among the Bangwato at Shoshong advised Tswana Paramount Chiefs to seek British protection.
This led to the Warren expedition of December 1884 to mid 1885, where the British sent 4000 troops from the Cape Colony led by Major General Charles Warren, repelling Boer and German encroachment into Bechuanaland and dissolving Stellaland and Goshen.
Bechuanaland was proclaimed a British protectorate, with Mafeking as the capital. But Bechuanaland was later divided into two; separating Tswana lands along the Molopo and Nossob rivers-those to the north, Bechuanaland Protectorate, remained a British protectorate, eventually gaining independence in 1966 as the republic of Botswana.
Those lands to the south of the Molopo, now part of present-day South Africa's North-West and Northern Cape provinces, including Mafikeng, became British Bechuanaland, a short-lived colony later handed to the Cape Colony. In 1910, the Cape Colony unified with Natal, the Transvaal and Orange Free State to found the Union of South Africa.
Even after the division of Bechuanaland which placed Mafeking outside of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Mafeking remained the capital of Bechuanaland Protectorate (present day Botswana) until Gaborone was established in 1965.
At the outbreak of theSecond Boer War in 1899, the town was besieged by the Boers. TheSiege of Mafeking lasted 217 days from October 1899 to May 1900, and turnedRobert Baden-Powell into a national hero. In 1900, the British built aconcentration camp in Mafeking to houseBoer women and children.[6] In September 1904,Lord Roberts unveiled an obelisk at Mafeking bearing the names of those who fell in defence of the town. British losses during the siege were 212 people killed, soldiers and civilians, and more than 600 wounded. Boer losses were significantly higher.
Although it was outside the protectorate's borders, Mafeking served as capital of theBechuanaland Protectorate from 1894 until 1965, whenGaborone was made the capital of what was to becomeBotswana. Mafeking also briefly served as capital of theBantustan ofBophuthatswana in the 1970s, before the adjoining town ofMmabatho was established as capital when Bophuthatswana became nominally independent in 1977.
Following a local referendum, Mafeking joinedBophuthatswana in 1980 and was renamedMafikeng. The town was treated as a suburb of Mmabatho.[7][8][9]
Following the end ofapartheid in 1994, Bophuthatswana was formally reincorporated into South Africa. With that, the merged Mafikeng and Mmabatho became capital of the newNorth-West Province under the name Mafikeng. In February 2010,Lulu Xingwana, theMinister of Arts and Culture changed the town's name to Mahikeng.[3]
The nameMahikeng means "the place of rocks" in the classicSetswana language of the people of theNorth West province of South Africa and the surrounding country ofBotswana. However, the city is commonly pronounced asMafikeng, in the vernacular of theBatswana people ofMmabatho. Historically it was also known asMafeking, and is still referred to as such historiographically in the context of theSiege of Mafeking andRelief of Mafeking during theBoer War.
In February 2010,Lulu Xingwana, theMinister of Arts and Culture, approved the town's name to be changed again toMahikeng.[3][10] Despite this the town's ANC-run local government and most local residents still refer to the town as Mafikeng both informally and formally.[11][12]
Mahikeng literally means “place among rocks”. It refers to volcanic rocks that provided temporary shelter for Stone Age humans in order to more easily hunt animals drinking water in theMolopo River.[13]
Mafikeng has a warmsemi-arid climate (Köppen:BSh)[18] with hot summers and mild, dry winters with cool nights. Mafikeng experiences a significant amount of sunshine throughout the year.
Climate data for Mafikeng, elevation 1,281 m (4,203 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1999–2023)
^abB. Mbenga and A. Manson."North West History – Tawana Molema".Historical encyclopaedia of South Africa's North-West Province. Department of Economic Affairs & Tourism, North West Province. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved11 December 2011.
^John Stander (April 2010)."North West High Court, Mahikeng"(PDF).Advocate. General Council of the Bar of South Africa (GCB).Archived(PDF) from the original on 2010-12-05. Retrieved11 December 2011.
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