Botshabelo is a large township in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State province of South Africa. The name Botshabelo means “place of refuge”.
Botshabelo township should not be confused with Botshabelo village in Mpumalanga province.
Overview
| Country: | South Africa |
| Province: | Free State |
| Municipality: | Mangaung |
| Established: | 1979 |
| Total Area: | 160.2 km² (61.9 sq mi) |
| Population: | 900,712 (2023) |
| Population Density: | 5,622/km² (14,560/sq mi) |
| Time Zone: | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal Code (street): | 9781 |
| Area Code: | 051 |
About
Botshabelo township is located on the N8 National Route, only 54 km east of Bloemfontein (the Provincial Capital) and 18 km west of Thaba ‘Nchu.
Established in 1979 on a farm called Onverwacht, Botshabelo is the largest township in the Free State province and the second largest in South Africa, with Soweto being the largest.
Botshabelo’s streets are lined with arts and crafts which are locally produced.
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, another homeland under the old Bophutatswana government.
The policy governing Bophutatswana at the time clearly stated that Bophutatswana belongs to those who are of Tswana tribe. As a result, all other tribes, mainly Xhosa and Sotho, 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 never seen again
In 1979, the then Prime Minister of QwaQwa, 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 was given by Julius Nkoko.
To this day, visitors to Botshabelo township are offered historical education on the Onverwacht Farm.
