Thembisa, formerly Tembisa, is a large

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

situated to the north of Kempton Park on the

East Rand The East Rand is a major urban area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is the urban eastern part of Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. The region extends from Alberton in the west to ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

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 ...

. It was established in 1957 when black people were resettled from

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

and other areas in Edenvale, Kempton Park,

Midrand Midrand is a town in central Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated in-between Centurion, Gauteng, Centurion and Sandton. Formerly an independent municipality, Midrand now forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History ...

and

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as the m ...

History

The township was formed in 1957, under the administration of the

city council which oversaw the forced relocation of black people from locations deemed to be in white areas, such as Dindela, Tikkieline, Phelindaba, and Modderfontein which spanned Edenvale, Modderfontein and Kempton Park. It is the second largest township in

, following

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

. In 1977 the government initiated the Community Councils and in 1982 upgraded them to Town Councils, under the Black Local Authorities Act. The government vested limited powers on these councils but without financial muscle. Therefore, to raise revenue for purposes of developing the townships, the councils increased rent and service charges. This caused the residents in different townships, including Thembisa, to establish civic structures to resist the rent and service charge increases. On 26 July 2016, residents were caught off guard when a tornado hit the area. The twister started in Kempton Park and moved over to Thembisa. Around 20 individuals were seriously injured, and more than 400 were left destitute. A standout amongst the most noticeable sights was the damage caused to the Phumulani Mall, where the rooftop crumbled after the tornado passed through it. In early 2020, the township was renamed from "Tembisa" to "Thembisa", although the Minister of Arts had approved the rename earlier in 2016.

Transport

Road

Thembisa is connected to

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in the north and Kempton Park in the south via two main roads, namely the M57 metropolitan route and the R21 highway, both bypassing Thembisa to the east. The northern part of Thembisa is connected to

in the west by the R562 route (Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Road). The R562 forms the boundary between Thembisa and

Olifantsfontein Olifantsfontein, also known as Clayville, is a small town on the East Rand in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. It is located at the north-western corner of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, just north of the Thembisa township. ...

(Clayville). The main route through the Thembisa town centre is the M18 route, which is formed by two roads (Andrew Mapheto Drive and Reverend RTJ Namane Drive). It connects Thembisa with

and

Centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

in the north and with Chloorkop (near Kempton Park West) in the south-west.

Rail

The main

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

route between

in the north and

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

via

in the south has a station in Thembisa east, namely the Oakmoor station. Just south of the Oakmoor station is a branch rail which heads north-west into the township, with the stations on the branch rail being Thembisa in the east, Limindlela in the center and Leralla in the west.

Notable people

Aymos Babili Amos Shili (born 17 January 1995) mononymously known as Aymos, is a South African singer and songwriter. He is best known for the hit single "Emcimbini" which was produced by Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa. Early life Aymos was born a ...

- singer, songwriter * Lerato Chabangu - soccer player *

Panyaza Lesufi Andrek "Panyaza" Lesufi (born 4 September 1968) is a South African politician who was appointed the seventh Premier of Gauteng in October 2022. He was previously Executive Council (South Africa), Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Educat ...

- Premier of Gauteng *

Tsietsi Mahoa Tsietsi Mahoa (born 9 February 1982) is a South African former soccer player who played as a defender. He played for Wits University, Supersport United, Bloemfontein Celtic, Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often referred ...

-soccer player * George Maluleka - soccer player *

Patrick Maswanganyi Patrick "Tito" Maswanganyi (born 4 April 1998) is a South African professional football player who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger for Orlando Pirates and the South Africa national team. Known for his passing, dribbling and creativity ...

- soccer player * Thabo Matlaba - soccer player *

Pearl Modiadie Pearl Modiadie (born December 29, 1987) is a South African television presenter, radio DJ, actress and producer best known to TV audiences for presenting the SABC1 music talk show Zaziwa. Life and career 1987-2009: Early life and education Pea ...

- TV presenter, radio DJ, producer * Moses Taiwa Molelekwa - pianist * Rosemary Ndlovu - serial killer *

Refiloe Nt'sekhe Refiloe Nt'sekhe (born 28 April 1977) is a South African politician who has been a Member of the Provincial Legislature since 2014. She served as Deputy Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from June to July 2024. A member of the Democra ...

- Deputy Federal Chairperson of the

Democratic Alliance (South Africa) The Democratic Alliance (DA) is a Liberalism, liberal South African list of political parties in South Africa, political party. The party has been the second-largest in South Africa since its foundation in 2000. The party is broadly centrism, c ...

(DA) *

Jerry Sikhosana Jerry Sikhosana (born 8 June 1969) is a South African former soccer player. Club career Playing most of his career at Orlando Pirates, he was an assumed fan of Pirates' fierce rival Kaizer Chiefs, and also performed for his team at the Soweto ...

former soccer player, most famously for

Orlando Pirates F.C. Orlando Pirates Football Club, referred to as simply Pirates, is a South African professional association football, football club based in Orlando, Soweto that plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as South African Pr ...

, coach * Tyler ICU, DJ and record producer *

Mthokozisi Yende Mthokozisi Yende (born 7 June 1984 in Tembisa) is a retired South African professional footballer, who played for Maritzburg United in the Premier Soccer League, and Kaizer Chiefs. He started his professional career at Benoni Premier United a ...

- soccer player *

Lady Zamar Yamikani Janet Banda, professionally known under the alias of Lady Zamar, is a South African singer, songwriter and author. Career 2015-2016: Lady Zamar & Junior Taurus, ''Cotton Candy'' Lady Zamar and Junior Taurus met in 2011. On October 14 ...

- singer, songwriter * Themba Zwane - soccer player

References

{{Authority control Townships in Gauteng Populated places in Ekurhuleni Populated places established in 1957 East Rand