Mmabatho is a community in South Africa’s North West province. The South African government built Mmabatho in the late 1970’s to serve as the capital of the black African homeland of Bophuthatswana. The homeland was reincorporated into South Africa in 1994. The name Mmabatho means Mother of the People.
Today, Mmabatho is part of the city of Mafikeng, which lies about 16 miles (25 kilometers) south of Botswana’s border with North West. Mafikeng is a residential, administrative, and commercial center. In 2000, the Mafikeng-Mmabatho urban area, along with nearby communities and rural areas, were merged to form the local municipality of Mafikeng. The municipality has a population of 354,504. See Mafikeng.
