Profile of the Municipality

Mantsopa was the sister of King Moshoeshoe. She was banished from the kingdom by King Moshoeshoe when he suspected that her powers were greater than his. When she arrived at Modderpoort, there were no houses and she stayed in a cave. She was a great prophetess and everything she predicted happened.  In 1886, a group of men called “The Brotherhood of St Augustine” arrived at Modderpoort on their way to Durban.  Mantsopa accommodated them in her cave. She later left them in this cave and settled at Spitskop Mountain and built a small house for herself.  This cave was later know as “Lehaha la Mantsopa”.

The missionaries decided to stay and not go to Durban and they turned the cave into a chapel. Mantsopa also had a fountain (this fountain still exist) that does not dry up at a mountain called “Verve”.  She used the water from the fountain to cure sick people. Mantsopa believed in God but did not know modern religion. She later joined the church and was baptised and given the name Anna. Mantsopa’s grave continues to be visited and offerings are still placed on or near it. The entire area mentioned above was later known as “Lekgalong la Mantsopa” (Mantopa’s Pass).