Bhisho

All you want to know about Bhisho

Bhisho, formerly known as Bisho, is the capital of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The Provincial legislature and many other government departments are headquartered in the town. Bhisho lies just north of the former provincial capital King William's Town. The town is also host to the longest international airport runway in Southern Africa.^{[citation needed]}

Bhisho is the Xhosa word for buffalo, which is also the name of the river that runs through this town.

Former capital of the Ciskei

Under its former name of Bisho, it was the capital of the former bantustan of Ciskei. Ciskei was nominally granted independence in 1981, although this was never recognised outside South Africa, and was reincorporated into South Africa in 12 August.

Bisho massacre

Main article: Bisho massacre

On 7 September 1992, this small town became the scene of what is known as the Bisho Massacre, when about 80-100,000 people marched on Bisho protesting for the dismantling of the Ciskei, which still maintained a measure of independence, and removal of Ciskei leader Brigadier Oupa Gqozo. The Ciskei Defence Force opened fire, shooting dead 28 or 29 people, and wounding 100. The massacre came at a critical time when negotiations towards democracy were underway.

External links

Bhisho is at coordinates 32°52′37″S 27°23′17″E / -32.877, 27.388 (Bhisho)Coordinates: 32°52′37″S 27°23′17″E / -32.877, 27.388 (Bhisho)

	v • d • e Municipalities and Communities of Amatole District Municipality, Eastern Cape District Seat: East London
Local municipalities	Buffalo City • Mnquma • Mbhashe • Amahlathi • Nkonkobe • Ngqushwa • Great Kei • Nxuba
Cities and towns	Cathcart • Stutterheim • Kei Road • East London • King William’s Town • Mdantsane • Bhisho • Komga • Kei Mouth • Hagga-Hagga • Morgan’s Bay • Chintsa • Dutywa • Willowvale • Elliotdale • Gcuwa • Nqamakwe • Centane • Peddie • Hamburg • Seymour • Fort Beaufort • Alice • Middledrift • Bedford • Adelaide • Hogsback

v • d • e Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Capital	Bhisho

Regions	Amatola \| Northern \| Western \| Wild Coast

Cities	Port Elizabeth \| East London \| Mthatha

Largest towns	Uitenhage \| Port Alfred \| Bhisho \| Graaff-Reinet \| Jeffreys Bay \| Grahamstown

Metropolitan and District Municipalities	Metropolitan: Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality District: Cacadu \| Amatole \| Chris Hani \| Ukhahlamba \| O.R. Tambo \| Alfred Nzo

v • d • e Provincial capitals of South Africa

Cape Town (Western Cape) · Kimberley (Northern Cape) · Bisho (Eastern Cape) · Pietermaritzburg (KwaZulu-Natal) · Bloemfontein (Free State) · Mafikeng (North West) · Johannesburg (Gauteng) · Nelspruit (Mpumalanga) · Polokwane (Limpopo)