Fort Beaufort (Xhosa: iBhofolo), officially renamed KwaMaqoma in March 2023,[3] is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011.

KwaMaqoma serves as a mini-'dormitory' for academic staff and students of Fort Hare University, based in the nearby town of Alice, and is also close to Sulphur Springs.

It is also the birthplace of South African politician and anti-apartheid activist who is also the first Premier of the Eastern Cape Raymond Mhlaba and his former first wife Joyce Meke.

In 1822, Colonel Maurice Scott of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment constructed a blockhouse about three miles from the mission station as a military frontier post and stronghold against raids by the Xhosa under their chief, Maqoma.

In 1839, the British commenced work on what is probably the world's only inland Martello tower, a small, circular Napoleonic era design hitherto used only in coastal defences.