The Ciskei Defence Force opened fire, shooting dead 28 or 29 people, and wounding 100. The massacre came at a critical time when negotiations towards democracy were underway. Bisho was reincorporated into South Africa on 12 August 1994, after the first democratic elections in the country earlier that year. In October 1994, the then Eastern Cape Premier Raymond Mhlaba announced that Bisho had been selected as the capital city of the Eastern Cape due to its infrastructure, accessibility to major roads and space for further development. The department of Arts and Culture published a correction of spelling of Bisho to Bhisho in their government notice No. 830 of Gazette No. 26552 on 16 July 2004. Bhisho's major structures include the Eastern Cape government offices (including office of the Premier), a branch of the University of Fort Hare, Bhisho Hospital, Bisho massacre Memorial, Bhisho Stadium and an SABC radio station known as trufm. Bhisho is dependent on the nearby King Williams Town and East London. The majority of the town's population is either employed by or servicing the government. The town of Bhisho is surrounded by residential areas; Bhisho Central, Tyutyu North, Bhisho Gardens, Balasi and Amatola View. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies Bhisho's climate as cool semi-arid ("BSk"), although it borders closely on both a hot semi-arid climate ("BSh") and a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa").