History behind Melmoth land claims
THE Etshaneni Mountain near the town of Mkuze is also known as Ghost Mountain.
The skulls and bones below the mountain tell a true story of a fierce battle fought between two groups of Zulu adversaries - iNkosi Zibhebhu fought against Prince Dinuzulu and his allies, the Boers.
The Boers won the battle and saved the Zulu Royal House from extinction.
On 5 June 1884, iNkosi Zibhebhu kaMaphita of the Mandlakazi, his impi and his white mercenaries fought a fierce battle against Prince Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo of the uSuthu, his impi and his allies, the Boers.
The Boers, who defeated the might of the British Forces at Majuba Hill three years previously, fought a tactical battle on behalf of the Zulu Royal House.
They defeated Zibhebu in a fierce battle. Hundreds were killed on both sides.
The Zulu Royal House rewarded the Boers with Zulu farmland and looted cattle.
After the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, the British authorities exiled King Cetshwayo, disbanded the Zulu military system and restored the land and cattle to the Zulu nation. Lasting peace was a possibility, but a brutal Zulu civil war destroyed Zululand.
Bitter enemies
Three amaKhosi wanted to destroy King Cetshwayo and the entire Royal House named the uSuthu.
They were the amaKhosi appointed to replace King Cetshwayo - iNkosi Hamu and the white chief John Dunn who both sided with the British during the AngloZulu War of 1879, and iNkosi Zibhebhu, a bitter enemy of Cetshwayo.
Zibhebhu was aggressive and also had the backing of the British authorities, but they deserted him.
Zibhebhu and
Hamu attacked the members of the uSuthu, looted their cattle and destroyed their grain stores.
The uSuthu, their women and children had to hide in caves and swamps where they faced starvation and extinction.
They appealed for help, but the British authorities declined to assist them, blaming Cetshwayo for the war.
Cetshwayo returned from exile and landed at Port Durnford on 10 January, 1883.
On 30 March, 1883 Chief Zibhebhu and Chief Hamu, with their white mercenaries, killed 4 000 of the followers of king Cetshwayo in a single day at the battle of Msebe. This death toll exceeds the total Zulu loss during the Anglo-Zulu War.
Severe fighting
On 21 July, 1883 Zibhebhu attacked and defeated Cetshwayo himself at his royal iKhanda at oNdini (Ulundi).
Severe fighting took place inside the royal palace. Fifty-nine of the most prominent uSuthu leaders were brutally murdered. Hundreds of huts were burnt to ashes.
The Zulu Kingdom was in ruins again. Cetshwayo was wounded in the thigh and leg. He had to flee for his life on a horse to a hiding place in the Mome gorge in the Nkandla forest.
Only 30 impi now guarded the fugitive king.
Melmoth Osborn, the British resident Commissioner of Zululand, eventually had to protect the once mighty king in eShowe.
Zibhebhu was triumphant and he continued to kill the uSuthu.
Sadly, King Cetshwayo died on 8 February, 1884.
Poisoned
Prince Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo, the king’s successor, firmly believed Zibhebhu had
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News of the Boer support for the uSuthu shocked Zibhebhu and his white mercenaries and they appealed to the British authorities for military assistance.
The British refused to be part of a private ‘filibustering campaign’.
John Dunn was scared of the Boers and he refused to help Zibhebhu.
Johan Colenbrander, a staunch ally of Zibhebhu, rode down to Durban and placed an advertisement in the Times of Natal of 13 May 1884 to recruit more mercenaries for Zibhebhu:
‘All able-bodied men of good character who can ride and shoot well are required at once. Applicants must be prepared to provide their own horse, carbine, etc., such as they may require for field service. Satisfactory remuneration offered.’
Only ten mercenaries from Natal responded, but they were blocked by the uSuthu near Empangeni.
Zibhebhu, with his 3 000 impi and mercenaries planned a classic Zulu ambush at Mkhuze Poort where the river flows through a narrow gap in the Lebombo Mountains near present day Mkhuze town.
He positioned his cattle, women and children behind a ridge on the north side of the Mkhuze River, placed his vanguard behind a donga near the south side of the river and concealed the rest of his force in the dense bush at the foot of the Etshaneni and Gaza mountains. Their war cry was ‘Washesha!’.
On 5 June, 1884 the Boers approached on the south bank of the Mkhuze River. The uSuthu under Mamese supported by the abaQulusi and 16 Boers on horseback led the first attack.
A jittery marksman of the Mandlakazi fired a shot giving their concealed position away. The main Boer force on horseback now stepped in and fired from the saddle over the heads of the uSuthu into the mass of the Mandlakazi.
The Boers poured heavy fire into the enemy of the Zulu Royal House.
The main battle lasted for 15 minutes. Hundreds were killed on both sides during the rest of the day. The Boers suffered no losses.
The Mandlakazi realised it was impossible to escape the deadly accurate fire of the Boers and abandoned their cattle, women and children and fled north. However, the abaQulusi crossed the river, mowed them down and freed many female prisoners.
Melmoth Osborne
The Mandlakazi refugees, accompanied by John Eckersley and Grosvernor
Darke, eventually sought the sanctuary of the British Commissioner in eShowe, Melmoth Osborn.
The triumphant Boers immediately started to capture some 40 000 Mandlakazi cattle and also looted the abandoned wagons of the white mercenaries.
On 16 August, 1884 Dinuzulu signed a document on behalf of the Royal House agreeing to the Boer land claim. It was a heavy price to pay: 2 710 000 acres of the best grazing land plus a corridor including St Lucia Bay as a proposed Boer harbour.
The new Boer territory led to the establishment of the New Republic with the town of Vryheid (Freedom) as the capital, as well as the town of Melmoth in the Proviso B area.
Commandant Lucas Meyer was elected as President of the New Republic.
In October 1886 the British government officially recognised the Boers as the legal owners of the farms in Zululand.
Fred Markham discovered gold in Zululand in July 1886 and the British annexed Zululand as a colony in 1887.
The Zulu civil war between 1880 and 1884 led to the final economic destruction of the Zulu people.
Their wealth in cattle was further destroyed by rinderpest and by periods of severe drought. The Natal Government imported American maize for the starving people.
The young men had to seek work as paid labourers in Natal and Transvaal.