Thohoyandou is a town found in Ha-Mphaphuli. It was named after the great king of Vhavenda, King Thohoyandou, who ruled the Vhavenda kingdom from the 1690s to the early 1720s. Today Thohoyandou is the second largest town in Venda after Makhado (Louis Trichardt).
Thohoyandou was established and built at a large portion of the village of Mbaleni in the late 1970s. It was established by Thovhele Patrick Ramaano Mphephu who was the Prime Minister of the Venda Bantustan. Thohoyandou became the capital of Venda when Venda was declared a ´republic´ in 1979, and Thovhele ´Mphephu became the President of the ´Republic of Venda´. Thohoyandou became the centre and economic hub of ´the Republic of Venda´.
|The Flag of the Republic of Venda||The Coat of Arms of the ‘Republic of Venda’|
A stadium was built in Thohoyandou to celebrate the ‘independence’ of Venda, and was known as the Venda Independence Stadium. The name was changed to Thohoyandou Stadium in 1994. Thohoyandou is the administrative centre of the Thulamela Municipality and the Vhembe District Municipality.
A panoramic view of a Thohoyandou suburb
Thohoyandou is one of the fastest growing towns in Limpopo. It is also home to the University of Venda.
The University of Venda in Thohoyandou
Read More on the History Of Vhavenda.