In 1968, Sebe was elected as a representative of the Xhosa Kingdom's AmaNtinde chieftaincy in the Ciskeian Territorial Authority and became responsible for Educational and Cultural Affairs, before transferring to the Agriculture portfolio in 1971.

[2] Sebe was faced with leading an economically unviable state, with a population of one million, many of them Xhosa forced to relocate to the bantustan in the 1970s, during South Africa's apartheid regime.

During this period, the Ciskeian capital, Bisho, signed a sister-city agreement with the settlement community of Ariel in the West Bank.

Sebe once claimed that Israel had granted official recognition to Ciskei, although the Israeli Foreign Ministry denied this.

[3] Sebe was overthrown by a military coup led by Brigadier General Oupa Gqozo on 4 March 1990 while on state visit to Hong Kong and charged with corruption and human rights violations.