Mohlakeng is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

west of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

History

The township was established in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. The new location of Mohlakeng was established after African residents of the then old Randfontein township of Madubulaville was abolished by the apartheid regime to make way for the industrial site closer to Randfontein town.

Geography

Mohlakeng is where the large part of the

Randfontein Randfontein is a gold mining town in the West Rand, Gauteng, South Africa, west of Johannesburg. With the Witwatersrand gold rush in full swing, mining financier JB Robinson bought the farm Randfontein and, in 1889, floated the Randfontein Est ...

population is situated. It lies 7 kilometres south of

, and around 38 kilometres West of

. Mohlakeng has now grown about 15% in size in 2012 as compared to 2002. The former Executive Mayor of The

West Rand District Municipality West Rand District Municipality is one of the Districts of South Africa, districts of Gauteng province of South Africa, that covers the West Rand area, with the exception of Roodepoort (which is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Munici ...

hails from Mohlakeng.

Attractions

Mohlakeng is home to some of the most popular nightlife spots. Rooftop Junxion, a new establishment at Extension 5 is among these.

Infrastructure

The community is served with Mphakathi mall, a police station, Mohlakeng Medical Centre, a refurbished Ramosa Hall, a soccer stadium and a recreation centre. Mohlakeng is surrounded by

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

in the east, Randfontein in the north and

Westonaria Westonaria is a town in the west of Gauteng province of South Africa. It is situated in the Rand West City Local Municipality, part of the West Rand District Municipality. During the apartheid era, Africans lived outside town in Bekkersdal, Gaute ...

in the south. Mohlakeng is accessible by the R28 Main Reef Road and the R559 Main Road.

Education

There are four high schools and eight primary schools in Mohlakeng.

Notable people

Other well-known people from Mohlakeng include: Peter Mathebula, the first African World WBA Light-Weight Boxing Champion, Oupa Manyisa, Donald Khuse, the late footballer

Patrick Ntsoelengoe Patrick Pule "Ace" Ntsoelengoe OIS (26 February 1952 – 8 May 2006) was a South African soccer player who is widely considered as one of the greatest the country has ever produced. Early life Ntsoelengoe was born to Daniel Ndimande and Marg ...

and Roger Majafa and

Thembi Kgatlana Christina Thembi "Pikinini" Kgatlana (born 2 May 1996) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club Racing Louisville FC and the South Africa women's national team. Club career ...

and

Linda Motlhalo Linda Maserame Motlhalo (born 1 July 1998) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a winger for SWPL 1 club Glasgow City and the South Africa women's national team. She is also known as the 'Randfontein Ronaldinho'. Earl ...

and Makhehlene Makhaula.

References

Townships in Gauteng Populated places in the Rand West City Local Municipality {{Gauteng-geo-stub