Mount Ayliff, officially eMaxesibeni, is a small town in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

province of South Africa, near that province's border with

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

. In the census of 2011, its population was recorded as being 5,367 people, of whom 98% described themselves as "

Black African Black is a Racialization, racialized classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have ...

", and 91.5% spoke

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

as their

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...

. Mount Ayliff is located in the Umzimvubu Local Municipality, which is part of the

Alfred Nzo District Municipality Alfred Nzo is one of the 6 districts of Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Alfred Nzo is Mount Ayliff. The majority of its 801 344 people speak Xhosa. The district code is DC44. It is named after Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzo, a former ...

; it is the location of the headquarters of the latter.

Xesibeland Xesibeland was a region in South Africa lying between Griqualand East and Pondoland the area around Mount Ayliff. Xesibeland was the traditional region of the Xesibe people ''(AmaXesibe)'', closely related to the Pondo people, Mpondo people and ...

, the traditional region of the Xesibe people, was located around Mount Ayliff. The Xesibe was led by Chief Jojo; Jojo today is the royal family and still the leading family in EmaXesibeni.

Geography

Mount Ayliff is located in a mountainous valley, hence the word "Mount". It is located just 26 km south-west of the KwaZulu-Natal border and is also located 34 km south of

Kokstad Kokstad is a town in the Harry Gwala District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Kokstad is named after the Griqua chief Adam Kok III who settled here in 1863. Kokstad is the capital town of the East Griqualand region, as it ...

and 144 km north-east of

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matan ...

. The nearest city to Mount Ayliff is

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

which is 283 km north-east of the town.

1999 tornado

On 18 January 1999 a number of tornadoes hit the town and surrounding areas. Twenty five people were killed and over 500 were injured; the tornadoes destroyed around 95% of the homes in the area leaving most people homeless making it the most destructive tornado recorded in South Africa.

Mount Ayliff Christmas Day Massacre

The town was the scene of a

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...

incident between a group of Mpeni and Nokhatshile men on

Christmas day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

2020 in-which at least 7 people died and at least 6 were injured. Following a search for suspects lead by the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

seven people, all injured in the incident, were arrested. The incident was the result of a conflict between competing mini-bus taxi operators in the area.

References

Populated places in the Umzimvubu Local Municipality {{EasternCape-geo-stub