| Mount Ayliff | |
| Native Name: | eMaxesibeni |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Eastern Cape#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -30.8092°N 29.3669°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Eastern Cape |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Alfred Nzo |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Umzimvubu |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 3.32 |
| Population Total: | 5367 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 98.2% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 0.8% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.4% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 0.4% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.3% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Xhosa |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 91.5% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | English |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 2.9% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Zulu |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 1.4% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 4.2% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 4735 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 4735 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 039 |
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 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]
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]
See main article: 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]