Mafeteng is a city in

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

, and the Camptown (capital city) of the district of

Mafeteng Mafeteng is a city in Lesotho, and the Camptown (capital city) of the district of Mafeteng. It is located about 76 kilometres south of the country's capital, Maseru and has a population of approximately 61,000. The South African border town to M ...

. It is located about 76 kilometres south of the country's capital,

Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. The ...

and has a population of approximately 61,000. The South African border town to Mafeteng is

Wepener Wepener is a town in the Free State, South Africa, located near the border of Lesotho. History The town is named after Louw Wepener, the leader of the Boers in their war with the Basotho chief Moshoeshoe I in 1865. It was founded in 1867 on t ...

. The town is said to be named after an early visitor, Emile Roland, who was nicknamed "Lefeta," literally meaning "traveller" or "passer-by." Mafeteng translates to English as "The place of the passers-by." During the

Gun War The Basuto Gun War, also known as the Basutoland Rebellion, was a conflict between the Basuto and the British Cape Colony. It lasted from 13 September 1880 to 29 April 1881 and ended in a Basuto victory. Following Basutoland's transformation in ...

of 1880/81 a great deal of fighting took place near Mafeteng. The cemetery, located near Mafeteng's Bantu Stadium, contains an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

in memory of members of the Cape forces who fell in action in the area. One of the sights in Mafeteng remains the Diphiring Mill, a fully working roller mill established outside the town by Mr. William S. Scott in 1912 and currently operated by the Osborne Family, millers by trade. The whole mill is run off a single engine by an intricate pulley system.

Basotho people The Sotho () people, also known as the Basuto or Basotho (), are a Bantu nation native to southern Africa. They split into different ethnic groups over time, due to regional conflicts and colonialism, which resulted in the modern Basotho, who ...

use the mill to process maize, wheat, millet and other grains. Mafeteng has several industrial developments including a Gap/Old Navy clothing factory and the Lesotho Pharmaceutical Company (LPC), which also exports to several countries in the region. Mafeteng has two hotels, the Golden Hotel located on the road to Maseru and the Mafeteng Hotel located on Hospital Road. The hotels are the center of the town's limited nightlife: each has a public and a private bar. Mafeteng has little tourism although travelers occasionally stop at the Buy N Take en route to the Van Rooyen's Gate border crossing at

or Malealea Lodge, a tourist destination in Mafeteng District. The

Famo FAMO, short for Fahrzeug- und Motoren-Werke (''Automobile and Engine Works'') was a German vehicle manufacturer in the early 20th century. Products * Sd.Kfz. 9: Heavy half-track used by German forces in World War II; some were also produced by V ...

musician Mosotho Chakela was born in Mafeteng in 1963. Mafeteng is home to Bantu Stadium. In the past it has hosted district track and field,

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

tournaments. The winners proceed to national tournaments in Maseru to represent the district. In 2004, the St. Thomas High School soccer squad advanced out of the tournament in Bantu Stadium and captured the national title. Following the 2004 events, however, Bantu Stadium had to be closed due to renovation of the fences which surround the field and viewing areas.

References

*
The Rough Guide to South Africa
'

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Mafeteng District