The Embu or Aembu (sometimes called Waembu) are a Bantu people indigenous to Embu county . The region is situated on the southern slopes of the former Eastern province. They belong to the northeastern Bantu branch and speak the Embu language known as Kiembu as a mother tongue. It belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family. Kimeru, Kikuyu, and Kikamba share similar language characteristics. To the west, Embu neighbours are the closely related Kikuyu in Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Kiambu, Muranga and Nyandarua counties. The Meru people border the Embu to the East.