Bisho, town in southeastern South Africa, capital of Eastern Cape province. Bisho lies 3 km (2 mi) east of King William's Town. The town's major structures include government buildings, a hotel and casino complex, a branch of the University of Fort Hare, and a sports stadium. The nearest airport is at East London, 56 km (35 mi) away.
From 1981 until 1994 Bisho served as the capital of Ciskei, one of the ten bantustans (or black homelands) created as part of South Africa's system of apartheid, or separation of the races. In September 1992 at least 28 people were killed and 200 wounded when Ciskei troops fired on 70,000 antiapartheid protesters gathered in the sports stadium in Bisho. The protesters, who were connected to the African National Congress (ANC), were demanding that the military leader of Ciskei's government, Brigadier Oupa Gqozo, step down. At the time of South Africa's first free elections in April 1994, Ciskei and the rest of the bantustans were reintegrated into South Africa, and Bisho became the capital of the new province of Eastern Cape. Population (1987) 8,000.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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