Qumbu is a town in

OR Tambo District Municipality The OR Tambo District Municipality () is one of the seven districts of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is within the Wild Coast Region. The seat is Mthatha. As of 2011, the vast majority (94%) of its 1,364,943 inhabitants spoke is ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The town is 61 km north of

Mthatha Mthatha ( , ), alternatively rendered Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known ...

and was founded in 1876. Lower Kroza & Mvumelwana are the biggest rural areas in Qumbu 5180. The name is of isiXhosa origin, derived from ''amazimba aqumbu'', ‘the corn has budded’, or ‘the corn is swollen’, referring to a tribal war which occurred at that time of the year. It is also known by its tribal fights during the 19th century, where King Mhlontlo of the AmaMpondomise was accused of killing the then Missioner Mr Hamilton Hope who helps in the foundation of the town Magistrate court. Mhlontlo was later arrested in

King Williams Town Qonce, formerly King William's Town, is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The town is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London. It has a population of around 35,000 inhab ...

. Qumbu was the first place in the Eastern

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River,

he river The He River is a tributary of the Xi River in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it ...

Kei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

homeland to have a hospital named Nessie Knight in the nearby rural area of Sulenkama, founded by the Missioner Mr Peterson. It lies on the north-east side of the Eastern Cape provincial border alongside the N2 route between Mthatha and Mt Frere, and the R396 between Tsolo and Maclear. It is bordered by

King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality () is a local municipality situated in the inland of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The municipality includes the towns of Mthatha and Mqanduli. The King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality is one of ...

to the south, Nyandeni Local Municipality to the east, Umzimvubu Local Municipality to the north The nearest hospital is Nessie Knight Hospital. In the 1990s and early 2000s high level of stock theft in the area resulted in a low-level civil war that engulfed Qumbu and the nearby settlement of Tsolo. This conflict left an estimated 400 people dead. In 2007 the area was still ranked as having one of the highest rates of stock theft in South Africa.

References

Populated places in the Mhlontlo Local Municipality Populated places established in 1876 1876 establishments in the Cape Colony {{EasternCape-geo-stub