MAZEPPA BAY STORY: THE PUZZLE BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICA AND UKRAINE, WITH THE HOPES FOR MORE TOURISM AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT!
The View Mazeppa Bay Hotel, in Mazeppa Bay, Mnquma Local Municipality, a new information sign dedicated to Mazeppa Bay will be unveiled. The event brings together the history of South Africa and Ukraine with hopes for more tourism and local development, while rooted in honouring the land and its people first. The people of Mnquma hold a heritage intertwined with the land and sea, one that welcomes new stories while remaining deeply rooted in the traditions, voices, and wisdom passed down through generations.
Before the unveiling, local community leaders and elders will share the stories about the deep heritage of the Wild Coast – a coastline shaped by centuries of Xhosa stewardship, the resilience of communities through the frontier wars, and the apartheid-era Transkei homeland system. This coast carries the memory of the ancestors and their struggle for freedom, dignity, and identity, while new stories continue to walk alongside the old.
The information sign honours the unique connection between South Africa and Ukraine. It features the Mazeppa schooner alongside a portrait of Ivan Mazepa, a 17th-century Ukrainian leader who, while never visiting South Africa, reached the Wild Coast via maritime history and Romanticism-era poetry. On the right side of the sign, the word “Freedom” is inscribed in 11 South African languages and in Ukrainian, symbolising a shared value that connects both histories.
“Ivan Mazepa is an important figure in Ukrainian history, associated with freedom, education, and the fight for independence. It is a privilege to place his story alongside the proud history of Mazeppa Bay and the Eastern Cape people who have safeguarded this land for generations,” said Kateryna Alioshyna, President of UAZA.
The View Mazeppa Bay Hotel, the Ukrainian Association of South Africa, and the Embassy of Ukraine to South Africa partnered on the information sign. They committed to working closely with the local community to ensure tourism growth benefits local households through employment, skills development, and cultural preservation.
Since 2024, prominent Mthatha businesswoman Judy Jennings has been leasing the Mazeppa Bay Hotel from the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, revitalising it and creating jobs for the community. “I am dedicated to uplifting the area and creating more employment. Our region’s beauty and heritage are our greatest assets, and telling our story is just as important as welcoming visitors from around the world,” says Judy Jennings.
Mazeppa Bay’s name comes from the schooner Mazeppa (1842), which anchored near the Natal coast
during the First Anglo-Boer War. Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709), a Ukrainian Cossack hetman, invested in education, trade, and church building, and his governance model championed freedoms still celebrated today.
“South Africa and Ukraine share a history of resistance to domination,” said Liubov Abravitova, Ambassador of Ukraine to South Africa. “By placing both histories side-by-side, we honour the dignity of the Eastern Cape people while also celebrating Ukraine’s contribution to the ideals of freedom.”
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others” Nelson Mandela
