THE TROUBLESOME CHIEF

Magoebaskloof got its name from King Mamphoku Makgoba, the ruler of the Tlou tribe that lived here and rebelled against the ZAR (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) government in 1894. By the late 1880’s the area saw an influx of gold prospectors. Makgoba became known to the government as the “troublesome chief” for his continued resistance against the invaders. Predictably enough, tensions rose between the local tribe and the newcomers, and before long a commissioner from the local government demanded that King Makgoba be levied with a tax. Makgoba refused and in response requested that all Europeans vacate his land. The two parties could not find common ground and in November of 1888 Makgoba was arrested and his livestock confiscated. He was later released on account of good behaviour. In the years that followed, prospectors ultimately found that there was not much gold in the area and left, but the battle between Chief Makgoba and the settlers continued. In January 1895 General Piet Joubert arrived to build armed forts and bring the resilient chief to task. Renewed pressure was put on the chief to surrender and in 1985 his capital kraal was captured. However, Makgoba managed to escape into the forest. A party of Swazi warriors in service of the government was sent to track him down, a task that they eventually successfully completed. They decapitated the chief and brought the head back to the Europeans as proof. Today a bust, sculpted from a historical photograph of the head, stands in the garden of the Magoebaskloof Hotel as a memorial to King Makgoba.