Zambili Dlamini

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Queen Zambili Dlamini was a Swazi princess who served as Queen regent of the Tembe Kingdom from 1886 until 1894 when her son Prince Ngwanase Tembe came of age and installed as the Chief of Tembe. [1] [2]

Queen Zambili
BornZambili Dlamini
Eswatini
SpouseKing Noziyingile Tembe
Issue Chief Ngwanase Tembe
House House of Dlamini
FatherKing Sobhuza I [3]
OccupationQueen Regent

Zambili was the daughter of King Sobhuza I. [3] Her royal Swazi lineage granted her legitimacy within the Tembe chieftaincy. Following the death of King Noziyingile (her husband) in 1886, Prince Muhena, a senior son of the Tembe, declared himself ruler of the Tembe Kingdom after being aided by King Cetshwayo of the Zulu Kingdom. [4] However, Queen Zambili challenged this and used internal resistant forces to overthrow Muhena and took over to rule from 1886 as regent until Ngwanase came of age in 1894, becoming the Chief of the Ngwanase-Tembe branch. [4] Ngwanase's nephew Makhuza Tembe, who disputed Zambili's regency, established the parallel Makhuza branch but was defeated when the Portuguese colonial powers recognised Ngwanase as the legitimate leader of the Tembe Kingdom. [5]

The legacy of the Tembe Kingdom persists today through the Tembe Tribal Authority, [6] which represents the continuation of the kingdom’s chiefly lineage within South Africa’s modern traditional leadership system, particularly the KwaNgwanase line and the Makhuza line which got incorporated into the modern Tembe Tribal Authority. [7]

References

  1. ↑ Mthethwa, Dingani. 2002. The Mobilization of History and the Tembe Chieftaincy in Maputaland: 1896–1997 (PDF). MA thesis, University of Natal.
  2. ↑ Mathebula, Mandla (2017). "Some notes on the early history of the Tembe, 1280 AD–1800 AD (PDF)". New Contree. 78: 102.
  3. 1 2 "Note on the above kings of Tongaland" (PDF). University of Cape Town.
  4. 1 2 Kloppers, Roelie J. (2003). The History and Representation of the History of the Mabudu‑Tembe (MA thesis). University of Stellenbosch.
  5. ↑ Lummis, Trevor (1996). "The Colonial State and the Rise to Dominance of Ngwanase, 1896-1928" (PDF). Phambo Seminar Papers.
  6. ↑ Peace Parks Foundation. "Tembe Elephant Park" . Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Tembe Elephant Park". Tembe Elephant Park Official Site. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
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