Mafikeng is the capital of North West province in South Africa. The city includes the formerly separate communities of Mafikeng and Mmabatho. The town of Mafikeng was once known as Mafeking. It became well-known throughout the British Empire during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 because it was placed under siege by Boer forces from October 1899 to May 1900. The British troops in the besieged settlement were under the command of Robert Baden-Powell, who later founded the Boy Scout movement.
The oldest part of the Mafikeng-Mmabatho area is the traditional capital of the Rolong group of the Tswana people. Mafikeng, their name for the area, means place of rocks. A European settlement was established next to the Rolong town in 1885. In the late 1970’s, the South African government built the town of Mmabatho next to Mafikeng to serve as the capital of the Black African homeland of Bophuthatswana. Mafikeng became part of Bophuthatswana in 1980. The homeland was reincorporated into South Africa in 1994. In 2000, the Mafikeng-Mmabatho urban area, along with nearby communities and rural areas, were merged to form the Mafikeng local municipality. The municipality has a population of 354,504.
