Mafikeng, formerly Mafeking, town in northern South Africa, in North West Province, on the Molopo River. The town is located in an important livestock-raising region, and its chief products include cement and foodstuffs. At the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899, the settlement was attacked by Boers but was defended by a British garrison; 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 the dependency became independent as Botswana in 1966. In 1980 the community was made part of Bophuthatswana, a black African homeland of South Africa. At that time the spelling of the name was changed from Mafeking to Mafikeng. In a reorganization implemented in 1994 under South Africa's interim constitution, the Bophuthatswana homeland was dissolved and reincorporated into South Africa, and Mafikeng became part of North West Province. Population (1994) 6,900.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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