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Mount Ayliff, officially eMaxesibeni,[2] is a small town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, near that province's border with KwaZulu-Natal.
Mount Ayliff
eMaxesibeni | |
|---|---|
  Mount Ayliff  Mount Ayliff | |
| Coordinates: 30°48′33″S 29°22′01″E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Eastern Cape |
| District | Alfred Nzo |
| Municipality | Umzimvubu |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.32 km2 (1.28 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Total | 5,367 |
| • Density | 1,600/km2 (4,200/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 98.2% |
| • Coloured | 0.8% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.4% |
| • White | 0.4% |
| • Other | 0.3% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Xhosa | 91.5% |
| • English | 2.9% |
| • Zulu | 1.4% |
| • Other | 4.2% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 4735 |
| PO box | 4735 |
| Area code | 039 |
Mount Ayliff is located in the Umzimvubu Local Municipality, which is part of the Alfred Nzo District Municipality; it is the location of the headquarters of the latter.[3]
Xesibeland, 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.
It was possibly named in 1878 after either William Ayliff, a Cape government official for native affairs or John Ayliff, a mission station founder.[4]
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.[5]
Mount Ayliff Christmas Day Massacre
The town was the scene of a mass shooting incident between a group of Mpeni and Nokhatshile men on Christmas Day 2020 in-which at least seven people died and at least six were injured. Following a search for suspects led by the South African National Defence Force, 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.[6][7][8]
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 and 144 km north-east of Mthatha. The nearest city to Mount Ayliff is Durban which is 283 km north-east of the town.[9][10][11]
In the census of 2011, its population was recorded as being 5,367 people, of whom 98% described themselves as "Black African", and 91.5% spoke Xhosa as their first language.[12]
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