When the apartheid government created the land reservations for the black population, which they called Homelands, they were given a certain internal autonomy and the status of a kind of independence.

The purpose of this costly trick was the expatriation of black South Africans, who were considered, as citizens of a homeland, foreigners in South Africa.

Each homeland had controlled borders and a capital of its own. Umtata, founded in 1879, was declared the capital of the Transkei, the homeland of the Xhosa.

As a "present" for their independence, South Africa donated the "University of the Transkei". Today, about 4,000 students are enrolled in Umtata. Umtata is the colourful and lively centre of the region. The former Transkei is now part of the Eastern Cape province.

The greatest attraction of Umtata is the Nelson Mandela Museum in the Bhunga Building in Owen Street. The modern museum displays a substantial variety of historic ducuments and photos of Madiba's "Long Way to Freedom".