The Town was founded in 1858 as a Military Fort after a dispute between a Natal Colony raiding party and local people. It is named after the Dutywa River, a tributary of the Mbhashe River.The name means "place of disorder" in the Xhosa language. Its spelling was officially changed from "Idutywa" to "Dutywa" on 16 July 2004. The Settlement was laid out in 1884 and was made a municipality in 1913, formerly part of the Transkei bantustan. It is the birthplace of Thabo Mbeki, who became President of South Africa in 1999. It is 35 kilometres north of Gcuwa (formerly known as Butterworth) on the N2 road. Dutywa is the seat of the Mbhashe Municipality in the Amatole District. Dutywa is an inland Town and an economic center to the nearest coastal town Willowvale Gatyane. The economic contributions to this town mostly come from the agriculture, education and the rapidly developing infrastructure. This town recently finished developing a shopping complex in 2017, and has good recreational areas including sporting centers. Da Village is a heritage/bar which is oriented for fun! A Center where prominent artists with the likes of Zahara who is a South African musician among others and radio presenters come to mingle.
Mida School is a Combined School schools based in Dutywa, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Geolocation
28° 19' 12", -32° 5' 56.4"