Chief of Tembe

Chief of Tembe (also Inkosi yaKwaTembe) is the hereditary leadership title of the ruling house of the precolonial Tembe Kingdom, now represented as the Tembe Tribal Authority in South Africa's modern democratic structure. The Chief of Tembe oversees traditional governance within the Tembe Tribal Authority, manages land allocation, presides over customary courts and represents the Tembe community in provincial traditional leadership structures.

The Tembe chieftaincy is historically linked with the wider Embo-Nguni, Embo-Dlamini ( Emalangeni of Dlamini I and the Thonga-Nguni (ancestors of the Tembe-Thonga) of the Maputaland-Lubombo region as well as other communities like the Nyaka.

Various historical traditions identify figures such as Sikuke, Ludahumba, Silamboya and Mangobe as founding ancestors of the Tembe family.