Qumbu is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, situated along the N2 National Route, approximately 61 km north of Mthatha, 39 km south of KwaBacha (formerly known as Mount Frere), and 29 km north-east of Tsolo.
Qumbu was founded in 1876. Its 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.
Qumbu falls within the Kumkani Mhlontlo Local Municipality, which forms part of the OR Tambo District Municipality. Qumbu is the main town and administrative centre/seat of the Kumkani Mhlontlo Local Municipality.
The town is famous for its tribal fights during the 19th century, where King Mhlontlo of the AmaMpondomise was accused of killing the then Missioner Mr Hamilton Hope, who helped in the foundation of the town’s Magistrate court. Mhlontlo was later arrested in King William’s Town (officially renamed Qonce).
Qumbu was the first place in the Eastern Transkei homeland to have a hospital, the Nessie Knight Hospital, which is situated in the nearby rural area of Sulenkama, founded by the Missioner Mr Peterson.
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.