Botshabelo, meaning "a place of refuge", is a large

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

set up in 1979. It is located east of

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

in the present-day Free State province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Botshabelo is now the largest township in Free State.

History

As many people moved away from the farms in the Free State, they looked for places to stay in the region of

Thaba Nchu Thaba 'Nchu, also known as Blesberg (''bald mountain'' in Afrikaans), is a town in Free State, South Africa, 63 km east of Bloemfontein and 17 km east of Botshabelo. The population is largely made up of Tswana and Sotho people. The to ...

, another homeland under the old

Bophutatswana Bophuthatswana (, ), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana (; ), and colloquially referred to as the Bop and by outsiders as Jigsawland (In reference to its enclave-ridden borders) was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland", an area set asid ...

government. The policy governing Bophutatswana at the time clearly stated that Bophutatswana belongs to those who are of

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu languages, Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Tswanaland, ...

tribe. As a result, all other tribes, mainly Sotho and

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 ...

, were housed at a squatter camp named “Kromdraai”. Kromdraai was initiated by a man who was only referred to as "Khoza". He was selling a stand for only 50 cents around the year of 1976. Later on the government of Bophutatswana started to strongly condemn the development of that area and worked hard through their police force during the day and night, striving to dispatch everybody living in the region and who is not a Tswana. As the pressure mounted for the people of Kromdraai, Khoza fled and he was no longer to be seen. In 1979, the then Prime Minister of

QwaQwa QwaQwa was a Bantustan ("homeland") in the central eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho. Its capital was Witsieshoek. It was ...

, Kenneth Mopeli together with the apartheid government found a place for all the people of Kromdraai at a farm called Onverwacht. All the people who were not Tswana started to move to Onverwacht for free, and later on when they started to settle in the area paid ZAR80 for a stand. Late in 1980 to early 1981 the name Onverwacht started to disappear and people started to call their place by the name of Botshabelo, this name given by Julius Nkoko.

Economy

Botshabelo has a large industrial park with large companies located there. The economy of this township is based on production of food, clothing and other goods. The poultry producing company upreme poultry Pty (Ltd)is located here.

Capitec Bank Capitec Bank is a South African retail bank and financial services company. As of February 2024 the bank was the largest retail bank in South Africa, based on number of customers, with 120,000 customers opening new accounts per month. Overview ...

and Shoprite has three branches and supermarkets in this township respectively.

Transport

Botshabelo is served by several commuter bus lines traveling local and long distances on a daily basis. The township is located on the main railway line between

and

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. T ...

, as well as on the N8, the main road between the two towns. The township still has unnamed streets, but the development of upgrading and naming of streets and roads are underway. There is also a new taxi rank at the newly built

Botshabelo Mall Botshabelo, meaning "a place of refuge", is a large Township (South Africa), township set up in 1979. It is located east of Bloemfontein in the present-day Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa. Botshabelo is no ...

Education

Botshabelo has over 65 primary and secondary schools. Motheo FET College has a satellite campus in this township.

Sports

Botshabelo is one of the towns that have produced soccer players for the

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

(PSL), especially for Bloemfontein Celtics, players such as James Madidilane, Ditheko Mototo, the late Abram Raselemane, Ntho Moshe, Motseothata November, Ace Gulwa, Lefu Nyapuli, Moeketsi Sekola, Teboho Salemane and others. Kaizer Sebothelo Stadium is the main sporting venue in Botshabelo with a capacity of 20 000 seats, including a sporting arena where indoor sports are played, as well as a newly revamped recreational swimming pool open to the public.

Notable people

Fikile Mbalula Fikile April Mbalula (born 8 April 1971) is a South African politician and current Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) since December 2022. He was a cabinet minister between 2010 and 2023, most proximately as Minister of Tr ...

, politician, born in Botshabelo * Katlego Maphathe, soccer player, born in Botshabelo

References

External links

{{Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality Populated places in Mangaung Townships in the Free State (South African province)