Mafikeng
{{More citations needed|date=October 2022}}
{{short description|Capital city of the North-West Province, South Africa}}
{{redirect|Mafeking|the Canadian community|Mafeking, Ontario}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Mafikeng
| official_name = Mahikeng
| other_name = Mafeking
|settlement_type = Provincial Capital
| image_skyline = Mafikeng, North West, South Africa (20506154516).jpg
| caption =
| pushpin_map = South Africa North West#South Africa#Africa
| coordinates = {{coord|25|51|56|S|25|38|37|E|region:ZA|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = South Africa
| subdivision_type1 = Province
| subdivision_name1 = North West
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name2 = Ngaka Modiri Molema
| subdivision_type3 = Municipality
| subdivision_name3 = Mahikeng
| subdivision_type4 = Main Place
| established_title = Established
| leader_title = Councillor
| area_footnotes = {{cite web |url=http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/667020 |title = Main Place Mahikeng |work=Census 2011}}
| area_total_km2 = 24.57
| elevation_m = 1500.0
| population_total = 291 527
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_density_km2 = auto
| demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011)
| demographics1_title1 = Black African
| demographics1_info1 = 95.5%
| demographics1_title2 = Coloured
| demographics1_info2 = 2.3%
| demographics1_title3 = Indian/Asian
| demographics1_info3 = 0.8%
| demographics1_title4 = White
| demographics1_info4 = 1.3%
| demographics1_title5 = Other
| demographics1_info5 = 0.8%
| demographics_type2 = First languages (2011)
| demographics2_title1 = Tswana
| demographics2_info1 = 78.4%
| demographics2_title2 = English
| demographics2_info2 = 0.6%
| demographics2_title3 = Afrikaans
| demographics2_info3 = 1.1%
| demographics2_title4 = Sesotho
| demographics2_info4 = 3.0%
| demographics2_title5 = Other
| demographics2_info5 = 11.1%
| timezone1 = SAST
| utc_offset1 = +2
| postal_code_type = Postal code (street)
| postal_code = 2745
| postal2_code_type = PO box
| postal2_code = 2745
| area_code_type = Area code
| website = [http://www.mahikeng.gov.za/ www.mahikeng.gov.za]
}}
Mahikeng (Tswana for "Place of Rocks"), formerly known as Mafikeng{{Cite web|date=2010-02-02|title=Xingwana approves 28 geographical name changes|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2010-02-02-xingwana-approves-28-geographical-name-changes/|access-date=2021-07-26|website=The Mail & Guardian|language=en-ZA}} and alternatively known as Mafeking ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|æ|f|ə|k|ɪ|ŋ}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|ˈ|m|ɑː|f|-}}), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa.{{Cite web |last=Tshehle |first=Boitumelo |date=12 September 2012 |title=Mafikeng municipality reverts to its original name: Mahikeng |url=https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012-09-12-mafikeng-municipality-reverts-to-its-original-name-mahikeng/ |access-date=23 March 2025 |website=www.sowetanlive.co.za}}
Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is {{convert|1400|km|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of Cape Town and {{convert|260|km|mi|abbr=on}} west of Johannesburg. In 2001 it had a population of 49,300. In 2007 Mafikeng was reported to have a population of 250,000, of which the CBD constituted between 69,000 and 75,000. It is built on the open veld at an elevation of {{convert|1500|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, by the banks of the Upper Molopo River. The Madibi goldfields are some {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of the town.
History
=Establishment=
Molema's town was founded by Molema Tawana (c. 1822 – January 1882).
{{cite encyclopedia
|url = http://www.nwhist.co.za/view-person.php?personid=33
|title = North West History – Tawana Molema
|author = B. Mbenga and A. Manson
|encyclopedia = Historical encyclopaedia of South Africa's North-West Province
|publisher = Department of Economic Affairs & Tourism, North West Province
|access-date = 11 December 2011
|url-status = usurped
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120315085507/http://www.nwhist.co.za/view-person.php?personid=33
|archive-date = 15 March 2012
}}
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", 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 the Boers in the Transvaal. He led his followers to Moshaneng in the territory of the Bangwaketse in present-day Botswana.
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 attended Healdtown; 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". The Jameson Raid started from Pitsani Pothlugo (or Potlogo) {{convert|24|mi|km|}} north of Mafeking on December 29, 1895.
For most of the 19th century (1800s), Mafeking appeared in Southern African maps as a part of Bechuanaland, 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's Northern Cape and North West provinces.
Bechuanaland was ruled by Paramount Chiefs of the Tswana groups such as the Barolong, Bakwena, Bangwaketse, Bahurutshe, Batlhaping and the Bangwato who under Sekgoma I and Khama III stretched Tswana lands further north to close to present day Zimbabwe and Zambia 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 day Gaborone, 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 by Sechele I (Setshele) of the Bakwena ba ga Sechele at Dimawe in present-day Botswana during the Battle 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 and Goshen 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.
=Siege of Mafeking=
{{main|Siege of Mafeking}}
At the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, the town was besieged by the Boer. The Siege of Mafeking lasted 217 days from October 1899 to May 1900, and turned Robert Baden-Powell into a national hero. In 1900, the British built a concentration camp in Mafeking to house Boer women and children.{{Cite web|title=British Concentration Camps of the South African War 1900-1902|url=https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/Mafeking/|access-date= 11 June 2022|website=www2.lib.uct.ac.za}} 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.
=Incorporation into Bophuthatswana=
Although it was outside the protectorate's borders, Mafeking served as capital of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1894 until 1965, when Gaborone was made the capital of what was to become Botswana. Mafeking also briefly served as capital of the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana in the 1970s, before the adjoining town of Mmabatho was established as capital when Bophuthatswana became nominally independent in 1977.
Following a local referendum, Mafeking joined Bophuthatswana in 1980 and was renamed Mafikeng. The town was treated as a suburb of Mmabatho.{{Cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/za-nw-mm.html|title=Mafikeng / Mmabatho (South Africa)|access-date=2013-05-13}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/town-mafeking-officially-surrendered-republic-south-africa-republic-bophuthatswana-and-u|title=The town of Mafeking is officially surrendered by the Republic of South Africa to the Republic of Bophuthatswana, and upon its|last=jonas|date=2012-08-23|work=South African History Online|access-date=2018-06-17|language=en}}
{{cite web
|url=http://www.sabar.co.za/law-journals/2010/april/2010-april-vol023-no1-p53.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205143824/http://www.sabar.co.za/law-journals/2010/april/2010-april-vol023-no1-p53.pdf |archive-date=2010-12-05 |url-status=live
|title=North West High Court, Mahikeng
|author=John Stander
|date=April 2010
|work=Advocate
|publisher=General Council of the Bar of South Africa (GCB)
|access-date=11 December 2011}}
=Capital of North-West Province=
Following the end of apartheid in 1994, Bophuthatswana was formally reincorporated into South Africa. With that, the merged Mafikeng and Mmabatho became capital of the new North-West Province under the name Mafikeng. In February 2010, Lulu Xingwana, the Minister of Arts and Culture changed the town's name to Mahikeng.
Major facilities
Name
The name Mahikeng means "the place of rocks" in the classic Setswana language of the people of the North West province of South Africa and the surrounding country of Botswana. However, the city is commonly pronounced as Mafikeng, in the vernacular of the Batswana people of Mmabatho. Historically it was also known as Mafeking, and is still referred to as such historiographically in the context of the Siege of Mafeking and Relief of Mafeking during the Boer War.
In February 2010, Lulu Xingwana, the Minister of Arts and Culture, approved the town's name to be changed again to Mahikeng.[https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012-09-12-mafikeng-municipality-reverts-to-its-original-name-mahikeng/ Mafikeng municipality reverts to its original name: Mahikeng] SowetanLIVE, 2012-09-12 Despite this the town's ANC-run local government and most local residents still refer to the town as Mafikeng both informally and formally.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mahikeng.gov.za/about-mafikeng/ |title=About Mafikeng | Mahikeng Local Municipality |access-date=2017-11-27 |archive-date=2020-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926214954/http://www.mahikeng.gov.za/about-mafikeng/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite news|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-09-old-south-africa-collides-with-new-in-city-names|title=Old South Africa collides with new in city names|last=Liou|first=Jean|work=The M&G Online|access-date=2018-06-17|language=en}}
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 the Molopo River.[https://www.mahikeng.gov.za/history/ History of Mahikeng] Mahikeng Local Municipality, 2021-05-15
Notable people
Notable people from Mafikeng include:{{Cite web|url=http://www.litnet.co.za/woordfees-onderhoud-om-n-wilde-perd-te-vang-tom-gouws-in-gesprek-met-bibi-slippers/|title = Om 'n wilde perd te vang: Tom Gouws in gesprek met Bibi Slippers|date = 16 February 2011}}
- Khuli Chana, artist
- Presley Chweneyagae, actor and Oscar award winner
- Vuyo Dabula, actor
- Katlego Danke, actress
- Marius Gabriel, novelist
- Gail Mabalane, actress and business woman
- Bonang Matheba, media personality and businesswoman{{cite news |author=Katy Scott |date=November 29, 2016 |title=The new 'Girl from Ipanema' following Gisele's footsteps |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/29/africa/bonang-matheba-ipanema/ |access-date=December 3, 2016 |publisher=CNN |series=African Voices}}
- Fistaz Mixwell, DJ and music producer
- Mogoeng Mogoeng, Chief Justice of South Africa{{cite web|author=Jordan Pendergrass|title=Symposium 2015: Judicial Perspectives - Mogoeng Mogoeng, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa|publisher=Brigham Young University|agency=International Center for Law and Religion Studies|url=https://www.iclrs.org/index.php?pageId=2&linkId=280&contentId=2278&blurbId=53370|year=2016}}
- Judge Yvonne Mokgoro, former justice at the Constitutional Court of South Africa
- Keabetswe "KB" Motsilanyane, singer and actress.
- Zenzo Ngqobe, actor
- Cassper Nyovest, recording artist and producer.
- Hip Hop Pantsula (also known as HHP{{cite web |date=March 9, 2015 |title=Hip Hop African |url=https://hiphopafrican.com/2015/03/09/hip-hop-pantsula-hhp-bio/ |website=Hip Hop African |publisher=Howard University |access-date=December 4, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220060525/https://hiphopafrican.com/2015/03/09/hip-hop-pantsula-hhp-bio/ |url-status=dead }}), artist
- Rapulana Seiphemo, actor
- Tuks Senganga, Motswako musician
Climate
Mafikeng has a warm semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh){{Cite journal |date=23 October 2023 |title=Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria. |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-023-02549-6/tables/1 |journal=Nature: Scientific Data |language=en}} with hot summers and mild, dry winters with cool nights. Mafikeng experiences a significant amount of sunshine throughout the year.
{{Weather box
| width = auto
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| location = Mafikeng, elevation {{convert|1281|m|ft|abbr=on}}, (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1999–2023)
|Jan record high C = 41.5
|Feb record high C = 37.8
|Mar record high C = 37.7
|Apr record high C = 33.0
|May record high C = 31.4
|Jun record high C = 31.5
|Jul record high C = 34.1
|Aug record high C = 32.5
|Sep record high C = 35.7
|Oct record high C = 38.3
|Nov record high C = 39.2
|Dec record high C = 40.7
|Jan record low C = 8.6
|Feb record low C = 7.6
|Mar record low C = 7.1
|Apr record low C = 1.6
|May record low C = -3.0
|Jun record low C = -5.1
|Jul record low C = -5.9
|Aug record low C = -5.1
|Sep record low C = -1.3
|Oct record low C = 5.3
|Nov record low C = 6.0
|Dec record low C = 10.5
| Jan high C = 30.6
| Feb high C = 30.1
| Mar high C = 28.8
| Apr high C = 26.0
| May high C = 23.6
| Jun high C = 20.9
| Jul high C = 20.7
| Aug high C = 23.7
| Sep high C = 27.8
| Oct high C = 29.8
| Nov high C = 30.3
| Dec high C = 30.6
| year high C = 26.9
| Jan mean C = 24.2
| Feb mean C = 23.8
| Mar mean C = 22.2
| Apr mean C = 19.0
| May mean C = 15.7
| Jun mean C = 12.8
| Jul mean C = 12.5
| Aug mean C = 15.3
| Sep mean C = 19.4
| Oct mean C = 22.1
| Nov mean C = 23.1
| Dec mean C = 23.9
| year mean C = 19.5
| Jan low C = 17.8
| Feb low C = 17.4
| Mar low C = 15.6
| Apr low C = 12.0
| May low C = 7.7
| Jun low C = 4.5
| Jul low C = 4.1
| Aug low C = 6.8
| Sep low C = 10.9
| Oct low C = 14.5
| Nov low C = 15.8
| Dec low C = 17.2
| year low C = 12.0
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 103.4
| Feb precipitation mm = 80.5
| Mar precipitation mm = 62.1
| Apr precipitation mm = 44.8
| May precipitation mm = 19.0
| Jun precipitation mm = 5.4
| Jul precipitation mm = 1.5
| Aug precipitation mm = 3.2
| Sep precipitation mm = 8.6
| Oct precipitation mm = 34.7
| Nov precipitation mm = 62.9
| Dec precipitation mm = 92.8
| year precipitation mm = 518.9
| Jan precipitation days = 8.8
| Feb precipitation days = 7.3
| Mar precipitation days = 6.3
| Apr precipitation days = 4.6
| May precipitation days = 1.9
| Jun precipitation days = 0.7
| Jul precipitation days = 0.2
| Aug precipitation days = 0.5
| Sep precipitation days = 1.1
| Oct precipitation days = 4.1
| Nov precipitation days = 6.0
| Dec precipitation days = 9.1
| year precipitation days = 50.5
| Jan sun = 276.0
| Feb sun = 249.1
| Mar sun = 258.8
| Apr sun = 261.9
| May sun = 293.2
| Jun sun = 280.2
| Jul sun = 297.9
| Aug sun = 308.3
| Sep sun = 298.2
| Oct sun = 299.8
| Nov sun = 282.0
| Dec sun = 283.2
| year sun = 3388.7
| source 1 = NOAA{{cite web
|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/SouthAfrica/CSV/MafikengWO_68242.csv
|title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Mafikeng
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = January 20, 2024}}
|source 2 = Starlings Roost Weather (extremes){{cite web |url=http://starlingsroost.ddns.net/weather/worldclimate/graphs.php?climate=9120&code=68242
|title= MAFIKENG Climate: 1991–2020
|publisher=Starlings Roost Weather
|access-date= 27 December 2024}}
}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|editor= Anthony Lemon |title= Homes Apart: South Africa's Segregated Cities |url= https://archive.org/details/homesapartsoutha00lemo |url-access= registration |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=0-253-33321-0 |year=1991
|chapter=Mafikeng-Mmabatho |author= J H Drummond and S M Parnell
}}
External links
{{Wikivoyage|Mahikeng}}
{{Commons category|Mafikeng}}
- [http://mafekingreflections.blogspot.com Mafikeng Reflections – A Unique Blog on the Mafikeng NWU Experience ]
- [http://studies.nwu.ac.za/studies/our-campuses North-West University Mahikeng Campus]
- [https://www.mahikeng.gov.za/ Mahikeng Local Municipality]– www.mahikeng.gov.za
{{Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality}}
{{Provincial capitals of South Africa}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Second Boer War concentration camps
Category:Populated places in the Mafikeng Local Municipality
Category:Provincial capitals in South Africa