Mafikeng

Mafikeng, formerly Mafeking, capital of North-West Province, north-western South Africa, on the Molopo River. The town is located in an important livestock-raising region: its chief products include cement and foodstuffs. At the outbreak of the South African War in 1899, the settlement was attacked by Afrikaners, or Boers, but was defended by a British garrison led by Robert Baden-Powell; after a siege of seven months it was relieved in May 1900. The town was the extraterritorial capital of the British dependency of Bechuanaland until it became independent as Botswana in 1966. In 1980 the community was made part of Bophuthatswana, formerly a black African homeland of South Africa. At that time the spelling of the name was changed from Mafeking to Mafikeng (Tswana, “Place of Stones”). After South Africa's first free elections in April 1994, Bophuthatswana was integrated into the newly established North-West Province. Mafikeng merged with the adjoining town of Mmabatho, under the name Mafikeng, to become the new provincial capital. Mafikeng Museum displays information and artefacts relating to traditional medicine; pottery, crafts, and grasswork; and the indigenous history of the local area. Maratiwa House, the former home of writer and one of the founders of the African National Congress Solomon Plaatje, has been restored and is now a national monument. Population 6,900 (1994 estimate).