Bolero is a settlement in the Rumphi District (Rumphi Boma) in the Northern Region of Malawi. It is the tradional home to the Paramount Chief of the Tumbuka and the site of the annual celebration of Tumbuka culture.
Bolero holds an annual festival to celebrate the arrival of the first Tumbuka king, Gonapamuhanya from Tanzania in 1780. The festival is a celebration of the Tumbuka culture.
The Tumbuka dialect called Kamanga is spoken around Bolero and Hewe. The Kamanga dialect is closely tied to the former Nkhamanga Kingdom and is considered one of the oldest Tumbuka dialects. It survives here but is heavily influenced by the standard form of Tumbuka.
In 2014 the American Ambassador to Malawi, Virginia E. Palmer, released $6,000 from the Ambassador's Special Self-Help Fund to fund a new library for the secondary school in Bolero.
In 2022 the new Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe Joseph Bongololo Gondwe was installed by the President Lazurus in 2022 in Bolero. The 60 year old was installed at Bolero Community Ground where tight security was required as a rival's supporters were protesting. The protests included damaging cars and removing electricity lines.
The highlight of the 2025 festival was to the unveiling of a tombstone to Chikulamayembe I who founded the dynasty. The festival however was noted for fighting between those who supported Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe Joseph Bongololo Gondwe and those who thought that Mtima Gondwe, who was the son of the previous king, was the rightful chief. One group argued that they supported the rightful heir to be King. Tear gas was used to control the crowd.
Bolero is part of the Rumphi Central Constituency and in 2025 its member of parliament became Dr. Matthews Mtumbeka. Bolero has a rural hospital, eight bore holes, a primary school and two secondary schools. Madalitso Wirima, who was an education minister, visited the largest one in July 2025 to see the exams taking place. Aaron Kaunda, the headteacher, noted the shortage of houses for the teachers and that there were only 200 desks for 500 pupils. The second secondary is Jalira Girls which opened in 2024. It had about 100 pupils and offered additional subjects including design, music and art. It was the eighth secondary school for girls nationally. Wirima said more were being built. Jalira was opened by the First Lady Monica Chakwera.
The road from Rumphi to Bolero was considered to be only possible to cross by four wheel drive vehicle in 1979 due to the black soil in the Nkhamanga Valley. A road was constructed in 2020 but it received substantial damage due to rain in 2022.