In 2006, the municipal name was changed to KwaDukuza (which incorporates towns such as Stanger, Ballito and Shakaskraal), but the Zulu people in the area called it "Dukuza" well before then.

The town was founded in about 1820 by King Shaka and was named KwaDukuza (Zulu: Place of the Lost Person) because of the capital's labyrinth of huts.

The city and its vibrant inhabitants are surrounded by sugar cane fields, bush and the mahogany tree where Shaka held meetings, which still stands in front of the municipal offices.

The Shaka Day festival, a colourful ceremony of 10,000 or more Zulus, is held at the KwaDukuza Recreation Grounds on 24 September every year.

In 2006, the Minister of Arts and Culture approved a name change from Stanger to KwaDukuza, which was published in the Government Gazette of South Africa on 3 March 2006.

The town has a South Asian influence because of the influx of labourers from India in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries for sugarcane barons, such as Liege Hulett.

[14] KwaDukuza is located at the northern end of the North Coast Line, which is served by the commuter rail network, Metrorail KwaZulu-Natal and runs down south to Durban via Groutville, Shakaskraal, Umhlali, oThongathi (Tongaat), Verulam and Mount Edgecombe.