Ngcobo, alternatively rendered Engcobo, is a town situated along the R61 Provincial Route in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
The town lies in the western part of the former bantustan of Transkei, and is surrounded by the towns of Cala, Cofimvaba, Dutywa, Elliot (Khowa), and Mthatha. The Mbashe River separates Ngcobo from Mthatha.
Ngcobo falls within the Dr AB Xuma Local Municipality and the Chris Hani District Municipality. Ngcobo is the main town and administrative centre/seat of the Dr AB Xuma Local Municipality.
Traditionally known as emaQwathini (the land of the Qwathi people), the town of Ngcobo has evolved to accommodate many nationalities. Recently, this town has been home to huge numbers of Chinese, Pakistani, and North African traders. The first non-Xhosa professionals to settle in this area were Indian doctors working at All Saints Hospital and Ghanaian teachers who flooded the whole of the Transkei in the 1980s.
For many years, Ngcobo was the biggest town in the region, serving many smaller towns like Cofimvaba, Tsomo, and Cala, and this gave rise to a popular Xhosa saying, “INgcobo yidolophu”, meaning, “Don’t take it for granted, Ngcobo is a big town”.
Ngcobo has two government hospitals, namely: Mjanyana TB Hospital and All Saints General Hospital.
Ngcobo is the birthplace of former ANC president Alfred Bathini Xuma, ANC stalwart Walter Sisulu, UDF stalwart Canon Mcebisi Xundu, Mondli Gungubele – former Ekurhuleni Mayor, Evelyn Mase – former wife of Nelson Mandela, and many others who played a significant role in the history of South Africa.
History
On 1 November 1859, a day known in the Christian calendar as All Saints’ Day, Chief Fubu of the amaQwathi met with Archdeacon Waters and the Rev John Gordon of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG). As a result, they were granted a stretch of land in the Xuka valley, and soon thereafter, the All Saints mission station was founded on the site under the leadership of the Rev Gordon. Today, All Saints Parish is a cathedral.
In 1876, Walter Stanford arrived at the station to take up his appointment as Resident Magistrate to the amaQwathi. He established the seat of his magistracy some 8 km from the station on a site known locally as Engcobo, a Xhosa term meaning “a green place next to a stream”.
In 1879, the amaQwathi rose in rebellion and, during the ensuing hostilities, both the mission and the magistracy were burnt to the ground, forcing their residents to flee. Following the surrender of the amaQwathi, the magistracy was re-established at Engcobo in 1881. The town was previously located in Mjanyana, well known as aleper institution.
