Skelewu Mbeki

{{Infobox person

| name = Skelewu Mbeki

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| succession =

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| spouse = Johanna Mabula

| children = Eight children, including Sipho and Govan

| relations = {{unbulleted list|Thabo Mbeki (grandson)| Moeletsi Mbeki (grandson)}}

| father = Mbeki Nonkasa

| mother =

| birth_date = {{birth year|1828}}Lewis, Verlan (2010): [https://www.academia.edu/274183/Matthews_Mbeki_and_the_University_of_Fort_Hare_in_South_African_Political_Thought_Cambridge_2010 Matthews, Mbeki, and the University of Fort Hare in South African Political Thought]. England: Cambridge.

| birth_place = Bergville, Zulu Kingdom

| death_date = {{death year and age|1918|1828}}

| death_place = Mpukane, Cape Colony

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Skelewu Mbeki (1828 – 1918) was the chief of the Mpukane village in the Nqamakwe district from the late 1860s until his removal in 1911.[https://www.saha.org.za/collections/AL3284/b2.htm Chapter 1: The Jews of Kaffirland], saha.org.za, Retrieved 12 February 2025 He was the father of Govan Mbeki.[https://mg.co.za/article/1987-11-13-schoolboys-rage-turned-mbeki-towards-marxism/ How a schoolboy's rage turned Mbeki into Marxism], Mail and Guardian, 13 November 1987. Retrieved 12 February 2025

{{Short description|Father of Govan Mbeki (1828–1918)}}Skelewu Mbeki was born in 1828 in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal, to the AmaFengu people, a Nguni clan displaced during the Mfecane. His paternal grandfather, Nonkasa, fled the Mfecane from Bergville in the 1830s, seeking refuge under Xhosa King Hintsa kaKhawuta and settling in Peddie. The family later moved to Healdtown, where Skelewu attended a Methodist missionary school, becoming fluent in both English and Xhosa. This education helped Skelewu become a key colonial agent, translating regulations for the Xhosa-speaking communities.Bundy, Colin (2012): Govan Mbeki. South Africa: Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd. Ohio University Press. Page 14-23 (10 pages) {{ISBN|9780821444597}}

In the late 1860s, Skelewu relocated to Mpukane in the Nqamakwe district, where he became the head of the village due to his respected leadership. In 1890, the British colonial administration formally recognized him as the chief of Mpukane. He owned significant land, including the "Mbeki farm" in Nyili, and a wagon and team of oxen that people hired to transport livestock to the market. In 1893, Skelewu married Johanna Mabula, a prominent local woman who was also fluent in English, Xhosa and Dutch. Together, they had five children, including Sipho and Govan Mbeki. All of Skelewu's children received secondary education at Healdtown, and six of them, including Govan, became teachers.

In 1911, at the age of 83, Skelewu was charged with illegally selling oxen across the Kei River, violating colonial laws aimed at preventing animal diseases. He admitted to the crime, citing financial pressures. He was fined £10 and removed as chief. And while the people of Mpokane wanted another Mbeki as chief, especially his elder son Sipho, but this was declined by the colonial administration. Skelewu Mbeki died in 1918 at the age of 90.Gevisser, Mark (2009): A Legacy of Liberation: Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South African Dream. South Africa: Palgrave Macmillan. Pages 16-18. {{ISBN|9780230611009}}