Mahikeng is the capital of the North West province of South Africa, near the border with Botswana, about 260 kilometres west of Johannesburg. Founded in 1852 and settled by the Barolong people under Molema Tawana, it served as capital of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1894 until 1965 and became famous during the 217-day Siege of Mafeking in the Second Boer War. It had a population of 291,527 at the 2011 census and was officially renamed from Mafikeng to Mahikeng, meaning place of rocks in Setswana, in February 2010.
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