About Mahikeng

Mahikeng, historically known as Mafeking, is best remembered for the 217-day Siege of Mafeking during the Second Boer War, when Colonel Robert Baden-Powell led the town's defence against Boer forces in a standoff that made international headlines and later informed the founding of the Scouting movement. The town became the capital of the British Bechuanaland Protectorate and, later, of the apartheid-era homeland of Bophuthatswana, a history reflected in landmarks like the Mmabatho Stadium and the Molema Museum. It remains the capital of North West province today, seat of the provincial legislature and government offices in the adjoining planned township of Mmabatho. The surrounding area is cattle-farming country on the edge of the Kalahari, and the town sits close to the Botswana border along a route that has long made it a regional trading post.

Mahikeng's calendar opens with Face Of Devotion North West at the Mmabana Theatre on 22 August, followed by the Bokone Bophirima Comedy Night at Mmabatho Palms on 28 August. Country and Afrikaans fans can catch Robbie Wessels in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality on 5 September, while the multi-day Glow Festival Mahikeng 2025 lights up the town from 11 to 14 September. Families are covered later in the month with the Kiddies Entertainment & Family Picnic at the Botanical Gardens on 26 September. October brings live music back with The Groove - 4th Annual Soul & Kwaito Experience at Cookes Lake on 25 October, capping a season that ranges from comedy and gospel to festivals and family days.