The Kamba are of Bantu origin; closely related in language and culture to the Kikuyu, the Embu, the Mbeere and the Meru, and to some extent relate closely to the Digo and the Giriama of the Kenyan coast. Kambas are concentrated in the lowlands of southeast Kenya from the vicinity of Mount Kenya to the coast.
The first group of Kamba people settled in the present-day Mbooni Hills in the Machakos District of Kenya in the second half of the 17th century, before spreading to the greater Machakos, Makueni and Kitui Districts.
Other researchers suggest that they arrived in their present lowlands east of the Mount Kenya area of habitation from earlier settlements further to the north and east, while others argue that the Kamba, along with their closely related Eastern Bantu neighbors the Kikuyu, the Embu, the Mbeere and the Meru, moved into Kenya from points further south.