1883: Mampuru, Sekukuni rival

On this date in 1883, the Boer South African Republic hanged Bapedi chief Mampuru.

Sekukuni

Mampuru is notable as the half-brother and rival — eventually murderous rival — of Sekukuni (also rendered Sekhukhune), the chief of the Pedi or Bapedi people. Their backstory is significant: Mampuru had been the intended heir of their shared father, King Sekwati, but the warlike Sekukuni had seized rulership instead when Sekwati died in 1861.

While Mampuru skulked in exile with the neighboring Swazi, it was Sekukuni who led his people’s resistance to the incursions of the Dutch Boers settling the Transvaal.

In 1876, he successfully fought off the Boer Transvaal Republic — which contributed to it becoming in 1877 the British Transvaal instead, at least according to the British.

Less successful was Sekukuni in the war soon prosecuted against him by the British. Extensively narrated here (also see part 1 of this same article sequence here), the upshot was that the British eventually trapped Sekukuni’s last defenders in a rocky hill remembered as the “Fighting Koppie” and captured him. The Swazi, with that displaced rival Mampuru, fought in this war with the British.

Sekukuni and his surviving family would be marched to Pretoria and imprisoned there until 1881.

In the intervening years, power was rebalanced all around among the players. Mampuru had been able to re-establish himself among the Bapedi with no small help from his British allies — but those British allies had been defeated by a Boer rebellion in the First Boer War.* One article in the settlement ending the Boer-British conflict permitted Sekukuni’s release.

As might be expected the ex-chief’s return to his homeland was scarcely welcomed by his brother. After some months of political acrimony, Mampuru settled the feud by having a team of assassins stab Sekukuni to death in his sleep, on the night of August 13, 1882.

For Mampuru, the sibling rivalry win was as Pyrrhic as it surely was satisfying, for he was immediately branded an outlaw by the Boer Transvaal and himself obliged to flee from the countrymen whom he meant to rule. When the Boers captured him, they had him condemned a murderer and hanged him stark naked for an audience of 200-plus white men in Pretoria. As an added indignity, they botched the hanging and dropped Mampuru to the ground on their first go, when the noose snapped. (In 2013, the jail where he hanged was renamed for Mampuru.)

Cowardly murderer or anti-colonial resistance martyr? That’s still up for debate.

* A result to be avenged/reversed 20 years on.

On this day..

3 thoughts on “1883: Mampuru, Sekukuni rival

  1. Hi everyone that will be reading this email…. Im from ga Kgoshi Mampuru at the Mampuru village what I’ve read today is mind blowing of how KING Nyabela Mahlangu had stood up for KING Mampuru is a genuine love for a Black Brother… In sort KING Nyabela Mahlangu He deserve to be honored the same way as KING Mampuru or even more i respect him for what he did to a Black brother dose are the words of King Sekhukhune the blood Brother of King Mumpuru even today if all black people where united we were going to achieve everything in our life time

  2. KING MAMPURU AND KING NYABELA’S OBJECTIVE HISTORY AND SUBSEQUENT BOMBARDMENT OF MAMPURU WITH HONOURS AT THE EXPENCE OF KING NYABELA

    Dear ADV. Mathole Matshekga

    Let me preface my writing by extending my gratitude to you (and that of my fellow people who may not get any opportunity to speak for themselves) for being part of our King Nyabela Dialogue today the 09 November 2019. I have not been mandated to extend our gratitude to you but I can safely make a statement to you that we were all over-the-moon.

    By the same tocken, let me extend (our) disappointment for not getting an opportunity to raise our concerns to you from the floor. It is my belief that the general members of the audience have an art of imparting the raw uncensured and genuine information. I love to listen to them. But, don’t worry, we will take Mr. Philip Nzimanzima Mahlangu to task. He was the program director and he should have made time for the members of the audience to air their views. It was not a very complete dialogue but without the response from the public gallary, however, for a start (we) understood. Over and above – it was a marvelous dialogue!

    Thank you to Mr. Matshepe Matlala especially, the members of the SAPS in particular, the organizers, all speakers and the members of the audience in general.It was a real nation building occasion!

    HERE IS (OUR) PROBLEM

    I am scrutinizing the shenanigans about Mampuru and Nyabela piece by piece, layer by layer. The outcome is disheartening. There is a tendency by different people to tell our history in an irritatingly distorted manner – and deliberately so. Some do so for self gratification and to amuse those who are next to them. Some do so to put themselves under the spotlight, to glorify their own heroes by discrediting our horoes – intentionally so. (We) are not very impressed about that.

    Under such circumstances the worlds acclaimed Nigerian writer, Mr. Chenua Achebe (1930 -2013) in his book titled “Things Fall Apart” says and I quote, ” Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.” He means that, for as long as the (dead) lion is unavailable to give its side of the story leading to its death – the version of the hunter will always be regarded as truth.

    He further says, “the history is told by the victors and the survivors and they tell it to glorify their heroes at the expense of the loosers.” In this case our history is being interpreted and symbolized by those who have a strong political power – such as the people who re-named Potgieter Street and C-Max Prison so biasly and so overwhelmingly after King Mampuru thereby shamelessly ignoring the role of King Nyabela in this episode.

    The book of Chinua Achebe attests exactly to what is happening between the history of King Nyabela and King Mampuru.

    The person who named both the prison and the street in Pretoria so overwhelmingly after King Mampuru at the detriment of King Nyabela Mahlangu is not a patriotic South African. A good and a bad history need to be written and be preserved without any alteration. The re-naming of these 2 infrastructures so overwhelmingly after Mampuru thereby disregarding the CHIEF role Nyabela played in this episode is our point of contention.

    In short (we) appeal to the government to re-align the distorted history that is evidenced by the inundated naming of former C-Max Prison and it’s street after King Mampuru.

    It is an open secret that Mampuru was a reason for Nyabela to go to jail. So why did they not dare consider Nyabela when they renamed the prison and its street? Had Mampuru not sought asylum with Nyabela – Nyabela wouldn’t have to have to trade the blows with the boers and end up in prison. Therefore, either the prison or it’s street needs to be named after King Nyabela to resonate with the theme of the Mamone Annual Commemoration of the Solidarity between King Mampuru and King Nyabela. For now, Mamone Commemoration is but a top dressing that seeks to prevent us from asking critical questions and to mislead us and world and to camouflage our true history from being SEEN and interrogated by the world.

    We admit that it won’t be easy to change the name of the prison. We, therefore, appeal to the state to rename Kgosi Mampuru Street after iNkosi uNyabela Mahlangu. It is important to re-rename former Potgieter Street (not any other small street) after Nyabela in an intertwine manner that symbolizes their brotherhood that is so much talked about. NB: No any other street.

    LETTER TO POWER FM FOLLOWING THE PRESENTATION OF KGOSI MAMPURU’S GREAT GRANDSON – TUESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2019

    Good day Aldrin,

    My Name is Mkhuze, It’s me who telephoned you earlier on today when you were interviewing the great grandson of King Mampuru.

    I am the greatest grandson of King Nyabela from my mother’s side. King Nyabela is maternal grandmothers grandfather. Nyabela’s last surviving daughter – my grandmother’s mother (Elisabeth Sthole-Mahlangu 1873 -1987) passed away recently in 1987 at 114 years. She is resting at the Maruthubulong cemetry next to Mashiding in the Siyabuswa vicinity. She is the grandmother to the Sthole family eMakapeni and she was great grandmother to late Mandla Sthole who was drama producer for IkwekweziFm.

    Co-incidentally, I am related to King Nyabela both from my mother’s side as well as from my father’s side. Nevertheless King Nyabela and myself share the same surname but our clan-names differ. My clan name is Lamula. Nyabela’s clan name is Mgwezane. Therefore I am more (bloodily) related to him from my mother’s side.

    I pledge to you that I am going to send you a lot of material that I have been writing over the years about the relationship between King Sekhukhune, King Nyabela and King Mampuru and the journey undertook by Nyabela and Mampuru from eRholweni/Mapoch Golwe/Rossenekal to Pretoria prison and to the gallows

    With due respect, what King Mampuru’s great grandson had to say on PowerFm needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. I am not concerned with what he had to say about the succession battle between Sekhukhune and Mampuru. I am also not concerned about their lexicon I am but concerned with his deliberate distortion of history when coming to the role of Nyabela in the run up to the execution of Mampuru. For many years I have been analysing the desperate attempt to hew out the foot spoors of King Nyabela from the history books. I cannot tell you why.

    I am sort of careful about commenting too much about the succession story between King Sekhukhune and King Mampuru. In the best interest of peace, I suppose I must not entertain that one. However, Justice Dikgang Moseneke presided over the kingship case between the Sekhukhunes and the Mampurus. The Mampurus lost the case 3 times at the North Gauteng High Court and once at the Court of Appeal in (Bloemfontein).

    A ruling was made by the High Court that in terms of the Bapedi customs – Mampuru was not a king. I am not interested in that in any case. That needs it’s own topic.

    The rulling said, Mampuru was never corronated duly in terms of the BaPedi customs – instead – he was corronated by the English after King Sekhukhune was (finally) defeated by the English subsequent to his string of victories against the Boers, led by President (himself) Thomas Francois Burgers of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek, he defeated the English led by Sir Theophilus Shepstone and strangely supported by the Swazis under the leadership of King Sobhuza.

    Sekhukhune was finally defeated by the English during their second round of insurgence against him led by Sir Garnett Wolseley.

    SEKHUKHUNE’S PROPHECY

    In December 1879 when Sekhukhune came out of prison, he prophesied and said, “You the people of black hair, if you do not come together and be united like a bundle of wood, I am afraid, in the end all of you are going to work in Pretoria. I am the only king that can fight and defeat Pretoria. After me, all the subsequent kings are going be the informers of Pretoria.” He used the word Pretoria to refer to whites. And indeed all the roads lead to Pretoria.

    BRIEF HISTORY OF HOW SEKHUKHUNE BECAME A KING

    On the 21 September 1861 King Sekwati, father to both Sekhukhune and Mampuru passed on. Before he passed on, he had hand-picked Sekhukhune as his successor. Sekhukhune was duly corroborated in terms of the BaPedi custom, recognized as the Pedi king and he ruled them with his whole determination.

    Owing to the security concerns – Sekhukhune moved (his) fathers head quarters from Thaba Golo over Thaba Phiring. At Thaba Phering it is where he took the upper ground and defeated his rivals. He inflicted a lasting shame in the Afrikaner society when he defeated the (SADF) under the command of president Thomas Burgers himself.

    Mampuru (1825) was born of the senior wife but he was younger than Sekhukhune (1814). Yes indeed, he deserved to be a king by virtue of being born of the senior wife. However, his father (prefered) to be succeeded by Sekhukhune – the son by the junior wife. As a result, the two brothers never saw eye to eye….

    It was not Sekhukhune’s fault that he became a king – he was appointed by his father Sekwati the son of king Thulare. And, the allegation that Sekhukhune usurped the kingship needs to be taken with a pinch of sault as well. Why did the High Court and the Court of Appeal not find that? Justice Dikgang Moseneke (a Sotho/Pedi) speaking judge for that matter is still alive – he can tell us more.

    The irony is this one: even though The Nhlapho Commission and the 2 Highest Courts of the Republic ruled that Mampuru was not a king – he is still being referred to by the title (Kgosi) – officially so. Tell me why? What is the significance of a Court rulling then if Mampuru is still referred to as a (King). The prison and it’s street may be called Mampuru but not (Kgosi) in my view taking into consideration the Court ruling. Anyway, I am not interested in that part. Let the granson of King Mampuru not discredit Nyabela to glorify Mampuru at least.

    THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KING NYABELA AND KING MAMPURU

    On the night of the 13 August 1882 – it is alleged that Mampuru ambushed his brother King Sekhukhune and assassinated him. It’s not clear whether Mampuru pulled the trigger himself or used a hitman. But, by Mampuru’s own admission, he confessed after the scaffold from which he was hoisted and strangled by prison officials. He said, “I was sent by the English. Now I am dying alone.” Remember, it was the English who crowned him the king of BaPedi after Sekhukhune was imprisoned in the then Pretoria C-Max Prison, the present day (Kgosi) Mampuru Correctional Facility.

    The sympathizers of Sekhukhune chased Mampuru. The boers intervened after Mampuru had assumed refuge with Nyabela. How did he land in Nyabela’s headquarters? He was being chased by his fellow Pedis. He sought asylum from one king to another. (1) He sought asylum with Marishane. (2) With king Makhani. (3) and He sought asylum with King Nyabela, the Monarch of Ndebele of Nzunza.

    President Paul Kruger sent a message to Mampuru to come to Pretoria to be prosecuted for (killing). Mampuru defied the order.

    Remember he was now in the custody of King Nyabela Mahlangu in the caves called eRholweni. eRholweni was the head quarters of King Nyabela Mahlangu. eRholweni is a dramatic cliff supplemented by a complicated network of caves.

    Hearing that (king) Mampuru had sought asylum with King Nyabela – president Paul Kruger summoned Nyabela to hand Mampuru over to Pretoria for prosecution. King Nyabela defied that order.

    Paul Kruger expedited a top General Piet Joubert and the commandos to go and fetch Mampuru from King Nyabela’s head quarters – some 250km North-East of Pretoria – a few K’s before Lydenburg.

    General Piet Joubert collected the commandos from as far off as Krugersdorp and Standerton to compose a force of 2000 soldiers. They undertook a journey to Nyabela’s head quaters to arrest Mampuru primarily for killing his brother Sekhukhune as killing was/is a crime. It was a ploy to get rid of Mampuru as well which opportunistically affected Nyabela too. Nyabela wouldn’t have gone to prison had Mampuru not sought asylum with him. Yes indeed Nyabela had some chronic differences with the government of Zuid Afrikaanse Republic but they did not warrant his immediate imprisonment. The Mampuru’s presence in the premises of Nyabela’s headquarters cost Nyabela his life and the total crash of the kingdom of Mabhoko.

    When General Piet Joubert was on the peak of the Bothasberg mountain pass next to Blinkwater along R555 Rd – he delegated a messenger over to King Nyabela to ask him to release Mampuru to him. Nyabela defied general Piet Joubert’s order by saying, “Tell Piet that I have swallowed Mampuru if he wants him he must open my stomach”. The army advanced.

    When they were at the present day Laersdrift Police Station, General Piet Joubert sent yet another delegation over to Nyabela to demand Mampuru. Nyabela said, “Tell Piet Joubert he must come over here I will slaughter him an ox but he won’t get Mampuru.”

    On the 12 October 1882 the war between King Nyabela and General Piet Joubert started. Nyabela (not Mampuru as we are tempted to believe) killed 19 soldiers of General Piet Joubert. Among them was Johannes Stefanus Roos and Frederick Senekal after whom the adjacent town was named Roos en Senekal = Roossenekal. It is alleged that Nyabela stroke some with lighting. This is another attempt to distort history – how does Mampuru’s great grandson get it right to credit Mampuru with the killing of Roos and Senekal? King Mampuru cold have never have killed Stephanus Roos and Frederick Senekal in the headquarters of King Nyabela when he was hiding behind Nyabela – as the great grandgrandson of King Mampuru made us to believe on PowerFm. Tell me how.

    It will be refreshing to know from the great grandson of King Mampuru as to what is it that can be attributed to Nyabela, if Mampuru is credited with the killing of Sekhukhune, sought asylum with Nyabela, fought and killed Stefanus Johannes Roos as well as Fredrick Senekal? Why why is Nyabela so much sidelined in this episode?

    Nyabela and Mampuru got the arms from the English whereas Sekhukhune sourced them from the Portuguese in Mozambique. The supporters of Sekhukhune helped the boers to retrieve Mampuru from Nyabelas caves. The boers gave them picks and shovels to dig the cave from behind. At the end of the war, all blacks were shared among the soldiers to whom the portions of land were allocated as thanks giving for defeating and destroying the kingships of both Ndebeles and the Pedis.

    The war between General Piet Joubert and King Nyabela Mahlangu, in DEFENCE of King Mampuru, took 10 months, making it the war that took the longest in the South African Military History.

    In April 1883, one of Mampuru’s right hand man succumbed to hunger. He got out of the cave and told the boers the state-of-affairs back in the cave. He told the boers and reassured them that back in the cave, the food supply had been exhorted. People were eating the skins they were wearing, and that they were divided. Some wanted to surrender and some wanted fight on. He reassured Piet Joubert that the possibility of surrendering was high. This was Mampuru’s cabinet member who supplied the boers with this vital information which led to the subsequent arrest of Mampuru and Nyabela.

    General Piet Joubert stopped charging/stopped the battle and camped around the headquarters of King Nyabela to wait for them to come out driven out by hunger.

    No where it is stated that the Ndebeles were lured by jam to get out of the Rholweni cave as we were made to believe through aral history. This was another attempt to ridicule Nyabela and down play the chief role he played in this episode.

    King Nyabela Mahlangu sent a half naked soldier holding a white flag aloof. He was a message bearer. Through the messenger Nyabela said to Piet Joubert, “go home, I am no longer fighting.” General Piet Joubert said, “the condition to go back is for you to hand over Mampuru (to go and face the murder charge in Pretoria.)

    On the 08 July 1883 King Nyabela released King Mampuru over to General Piet Joubert. Piet Joubert sent a message over to President Paul Kruger to say that he had captured King Mampuru. Paul Kruger said, catch all those K…ers and bring them over here. Another struggle ensued to catch King Nyabela and his whole cabinet.

    Nyabela and Mampuru were handcuffed hand to hand plus their cabinet members and driven on foot down R555 Burgersforth/Middleburg Rd up to Middleburg. They turned right into the N4 Highway down to Pretoria over 250km – on foot – i suppose.

    Arriving in Pretoria’s Church Square with 2 prisoners and their cabinets, General Piet Joubert was welcomed by whites with a feast called carnival “die karnaval.”

    Let’s agree that the instability of the Pedi kingdom caused the Ndebele Nzunza Mabhoko’s Kingdom to crash – Mapoch Golwe. Ever since then the kingdom of Nzunza Mabhoko never restored to its original form.

    THE TRIAL OF KING NYABELA

    Presiding Judge: Justice G.J. Kotze

    Nyabela took a stand. His charges were:

    1.To offer asylum to Mampuru.

    2. To defy an order to hand Mampuru over to the Court of Law

    3. To defy an order to supply the Govement of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republic with the stats of his subjects (sensus).

    4. To defy the order to collect Tax from his subjects on behalf of the Government of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republic.

    5. Some of the charges which were concocted against him, were charges that he had inherited from the kingship of his father, King Mabhoko.

    King Nyabela pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was nevertheless sentenced to death. In mitigation he said, whether you sentence me to death or not that’s immaterial to me really. The fact is that I inherited the charges from my father – King Mabhoko. His Lawyer intervened…. His sentence was commuted to Life Time Imprisonment coupled with Hard Labour. He served 15 years, not 8 years as King Mampuru’s great grandson tempted us believe on PowerFm, in the present day Kgosi Mampuru Prison from 1883-1899.

    Upon his release, it is alleged that he had become mentally disturbed. He was ordered never to return to his territory eRholweni (Roossenekal). He died as hobbo/homeless on the 19 December 1902 on the back yard of a Msiza homestead in the vicinity of Wonderboom Airport. His grave has since disappeared in the same vein as Mampuru’s remains are unknown.

    NB: The king who was buried under the Wonderboom tree is not Nyabela but King Mmusi, the founding father of the Ndebeles who came from Johannesburg/eMhlangani/Randfontein

    THE TRIAL OF KING MAMPURU

    CHARGES:

    1. Murder of his Brother, King Sekhukhune

    2. To run away from the Arm of Law

    3. To defy an order to supply the Govement of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republic with the stats of his subjects (sensus).

    4. To defy to collect Tax from his subjects on behalf of the Government of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republic.

    Very sadly, King Mampuru was sentenced to death. The following day he was hanged from the scaffold which was espicially built for him on the lawns of the court – outside the Court.

    He was hoisted, the trapdoor was opened. The scaffold fell but his neck had already broken. He shouted, ” I was sent by the English! Today you are killimg me alone.” He was sadly hoisted once again. He then succumbed to the strangulation. This is so sad!!!

    The day in which King Mampuru was executed was treated like gala day by the white community. Some 260 people came to watch his strangulation live.

    King Nyabela was FORCED to go and WATCH how his comrade died. It is said that seeing Mapuru dying in that way Nyabela cried uncontrollably like a small child!!

    Paul Kruger was opportunistic as far as the case of Mampuru’s assassination of his brother was concerned. Partly, the reason why Paul Kruger’s predecessor, Thomas Francois Burger (after whom Burgersforth was named) was recalled as president was because of the shameful defeat that Sekhukhune inflicted on the Boers during Thomas Burgers’ presidency. He was fired as president and replaced with Paul Kruger one of the best Army Commanders.

    Sekhukhune used to smuggle the guns from the Mozambican Portugues. He exchanged them with the cattle that he used to steal from the boers (sic). After stealing the cattle, he used to drive them in a deep valley which came to be known as Steelpoort – hence the geographic name Steelpoort next to Burgersforth.

    The former Army Commander, Paul Kruger, was elected president. During this inauguration speech – he pledged to the whites that he was going to deal effectively with foreigners (die verdomte uitlanders) and K…rs that were living in the caves.

    The whites actually knocked Mampuru. They spurred him to wage war against his brother Sekhukhune because of hostile principles held against whites. After Mampuru killed Sekhukhune, the Boers used the Law to sentence Mampuru to death.

    Paul Kruger delivered on his manifesto. It was under his leadership that the kingship of BaPedi and Ndebeles of Nzunza was destroyed and many other kingship among others: Makhado of Venda, Bambatha ka Mancinza Zondi of the Zulus, King Moshoeshoe of the Sothos.

    POINT OF CONTENTION

    The burning point of contention between the Boers and the kings was: Territory, Sensus and Hut-tax that they forcefully extorted from them. That generation of kings vowed never to beg off.

    THE NAMING OF THE PRISON AND ITS STREET AFTER MAMPURU.

    1. Here is the point of contention: I am very sure that you got the grasp of the long way that King Nyabela and King Mampuru walked together until they were separated by death.

    2. I am sure that you have a comprehension of King Nyabela’s efforts to save the life of Mampuru.

    3. I am sure that you have an imagination of the trauma that Nyabela suffered from being forced to watch Mampuru being executed.

    NOW ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

    1. Why was the name of the former C-Max Prison changed to Kgosi Mampuru Prison?

    2. Why was the name of the street (former Potgiter Street ) that leads to the same prison ALSO been changed to Kgosi Mampuru Street?

    3. Don’t you think Nyabela has been deliberately sidelined in the naming of the jail and it’s street so overwhelmingly after Mampuru?

    Show me 1 symbol that dramatizes Nyabela and Mampuru’s solidarity that is commemorated annually at Mamone.

    MAMONE ANNUAL COMMEMORATION

    Here is the irony of ironies: it is mind boggling. Mamone Annual Commemoration is the annual feast that is hosted by our Pedi brothers and sisters in Limpopo to commemorate the so called solidarity of King Mampuru and King Nyabela. Can you believe it?

    How do they dare commemorate this solidarity if they cannot demonstrate such solidarity by naming these 2 giant infrastructures in the intertwine way to demonstrate the solidarity they celebrate every year in January?

    It would make sense had they at least named Potgieter Street after Inkos’uNyabela Mahlangu, to demonstrate that Nyabela vowed to live and die with and for Mampuru. Nyabela sacrificed his own life and the whole kingship of Nzunza Mabhoko in the best interest of Mampuru.

    HERE IS WHAT YOU MUST KNOW

    Under these circumstances – my soul and that of my fellow Ndebele speaking people who cannot speak for themselves shall never rest until one day when this history that has been deliberately distorted been straightened up – by naming the adjacent infrastructures after Nyabela and Mampuru as they were handcuffed together, as they stood trial together, until they were separated by death. Show me one evidence that attests to the Mamone Commemoration. Please give us POTGIETER STREET and keep C-Max Prison and then invite us to Mamone Annual Commemoration of the Solidarity of Nyabela and Mampuru, we will attend it with our heads held high and our chests pushed forward.

    For now, it will be refreshing to know why the Ndebeles should attend Mamone Annual Feast – to celebrate what? Let the celebration be SEEN by naming the government infrastructures relevantly to evoke questions even to the passers-by to say, why is the prison called Kgosi Mampuru and the street called Inkosi Nyabela? Then, the Solidarity story will be an answer. Fair enough. This will be a funky and stylish naming convention with a DEEP seated reason.

    We will be consoled a day Potgieter Street has been renamed after King Nyabela Mahlangu. To those who ignore us, the curse is following them. We wrote to the Department of Arts and Culture and the Department of Justice but we were painfully ignored.

    Nyabela must be rolling in his grave. He must be cursing us for allowing this to happpen in his name. The injustice used to overwhelm King Mampuru with names of prisons and and streets thereby unashamedly ignoring Nyabela but have audacity to celebrate their solidarity at Mamone is an attempt to distort our colourful history and to ERASE the foot prints of King Nyabela from the history books – deliberately so.

    Thank you for your time

    Written without fear, favour or prejudice by courtesy of Mkhuze Mahlangu the greatest grand son of King Nyabela Mahlangu (1825-1902) from my mother’s side.

    Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone

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    Mkhuze Mahlangu

    • I have just read this factful article. You are spot on. King Nyabela deserves justice not only in street renaming but also by renaming Roosenekal after him. I like your insight in our history. Send me this detailed article.

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