Bhisho

Bhisho is the capital of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is located in the eastern part of the province, near King William’s Town, and is part of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. The town functions as an administrative and political center for the province.

Historically, Bhisho was the capital of the Xhosa homeland of Ciskei during the apartheid era and was commonly referred to as Bisho in international texts. It gained wide attention for the Bisho Massacre in 1992, when South African police opened fire on a crowd of protesters, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries. After the end of apartheid and the transition to democracy, Bhisho became the seat of the Eastern Cape provincial government.

Today, Bhisho houses the core institutions of the province, including the offices of the Premier and the Legislative Assembly. The Bhisho Government Complex hosts key departments and provincial administration. The town is primarily an administrative and political hub, surrounded by residential areas and local services that support the provincial government.

As part of the Eastern Cape’s modern governance framework, Bhisho remains a symbol of the province’s political and historical development within South Africa.