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. 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.[3]

Mount Ayliff eMaxesibeni
Mount Ayliff Show map of Eastern Cape Mount Ayliff Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 30°48′33″S 29°22′01″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Alfred Nzo
Municipality	Umzimvubu
Area [1]
• 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) [1]
• Black African	98.2%
• Coloured	0.8%
• Indian/Asian	0.4%
• White	0.4%
• Other	0.3%
First languages (2011) [1]
• 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.[4]

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.

Geography

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.[5][6][7]

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.[8]

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 7 people died and at least 6 were injured. Following a search for suspects lead 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.[9][10][11]

References

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