The Battlefields - Legends of the Zulu Kingdom

THE BHAMBATHA REBELLION 1906

In the year commemorating its centenary, author and specialist battlefields tour guide KEN GILLINGS traces the events of the 1906 Bhambatha Rebellion; a defiance against colonial rule, which many describe as the beginning of the armed struggle by Black South Africans.
The Bhambatha Rebellion* broke out as a result of a decision by the Colonial Government to impose a poll tax of one Pound on all residents over the age of 18 years, in an attempt to reimburse a somewhat depleted Treasury during the depression following the Anglo-Boer War.

The Black population of the colony in particular resented the move, which they considered to be unjust in view of the huge differences between their earnings and those of the Whites of the colony.

There were other factors as well, such as the allocation of farms to Whites, White and Indian immigration, and severe restrictive measures being forced upon Blacks.

When the time came for the implementation of the poll tax, many of the Black tribesmen of the colony refused to pay, and the bubble of discontent burst when some Natal policemen were attacked on the farm Trewirgie, near Baynesfield. The tribesmen involved in the attack were located and executed, leading to intervention from Britain.

Soon, there were sporadic outbreaks of unrest and Martial Law was proclaimed. Colonial troops were mobilised and volunteers from the Transvaal arrived to participate.

An influential chief from the Mpanza valley near Greytown, Bhambatha Zondi, faced by a revolt within his tribe, became embroiled in the issue and was deposed by the Natal Government for being in league with the dissidents.

He fled to King Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo's royal homestead at Usutu, on the banks of the Black Mfolozi River, leaving his wife with the King, and therefore, in effect, involving him in the rebellion.

zoom The author in the Mome Gorge

AMBUSH ON 4 APRIL 1906

On the 4th April, Bhambatha and his rebels ambushed a force of Natal policemen at Mpanza between Greytown and Keate’s Drift, and four policemen were killed. Parts of Sergeant Brown’s body were removed and used as ingredients for muthi (special medicine).

Bhambatha's hut was located and fired. He had, however, fled from the area to the umuzi of one of the most influential chiefs of the Colony, Sigananda Shezi of the amaCube, who lived above the Mome stream near the Nkandla Forest. Sigananda was also the custodian of King Cetshwayo's grave, which was situated nearby.

A general call-up of colonial regiments then followed, and troops were deployed throughout Northern Natal and Zululand. By then, many of the colony's tribesmen had broken out in open rebellion against the imposition of the poll tax. Many of the tribes were split in their loyalties, resulting in them being formed into groups of 'levies' to fight against their compatriots.

DUNCAN MCKENZIE SWEEPS THE NKANDLA FOREST

Reports reached Col Duncan McKenzie, who had been appointed Colonel in Chief of all forces, that Bhambatha had moved to the Nkandla area, and he established his headquarters near the village bearing the same name.

A series of sweeps of the dense Nkandla Forest were made, and for days the colonial troops searched fruitlessly for the rebels with minimal success. The guns of the Natal Field Artillery were used to shell the forest in an attempt to force Sigananda out, without success. The area of King Cetshwayo's grave was also occupied, which created much resentment amongst the Zulu people.

On the 9th June, McKenzie received reports that Bhambatha's rebels were making their way into the Nkandla forest via the entrance to the Mome gorge, and the troops converged on the entrance after the rebels had arrived and settled down for the night.

10 JUNE 1906

At first light on the 10th June, the rebels, who had become aware of the existence of the troops and were being prepared to fight by their izinduna, were fired upon from a koppie at the entrance to the gorge, and from either side, forcing them to flee upstream to seek shelter in the pear-shaped Dobo forest, and the Mvalasango forest further along the Mome stream.

McKenzie's troops were deployed at strategic positions above and around the gorge, with stopper groups being placed along its sides.

After the first shots were fired, the rebels fled into the Dobo and Mvalasango forests, which were swept, the former from top to bottom. No mercy was shown by the troops, who massacred the rebels, some of whom feigned death only to 'awake' when their adversaries were upon them!

During the downward drive of the Dobo forest, Inspector Fairlie of the Natal Police, fearing that the Nongqai (Natal Native Police) would shoot one another if they overlapped, ordered his bugler to sound the 'Assembly', and unintentionally brought the entire operation to a halt, thus enabling a number of rebels to escape into the Esigqumeni forest, further upstream.

MASSACRE & DECAPITATION

About 575 rebels were killed in the massacre, while the colonial forces lost three - one of them, Capt McFarlane, by a stray bullet from one of his troops.

Officially, Bhambatha's body was located on the banks of the Mome stream, decapitated and the head taken to Nkandla for identification. Again, officially, it was then returned to the forest and buried with the body, but even to this day, the amaZondi and the amaShezi maintain that the body that was pointed out by Sishukane Zondi was not that of Bhambatha and that he fled to Mozambique.

Furthermore, a photograph appeared in the Nongqai magazine in September 1925, showing a skull mounted on a plaque, proclaiming that it belonged to Bhambatha.

In 2002, however, I received an envelope from England containing several photographs and documents pertaining to the Rebellion, collected by a Lt Col J H Alexander.

A small envelope was marked 'Atabmab' (Bambata spelt backwards). It contained some hair, and included a graphic description of Bhambatha&'s wounds. The document states that the first bullet that struck Bhambatha broke his arm a few inches above the elbow. Bhambatha must have received a second bullet wound in the back, the bullet emerging under the right breast. He was then evidently stabbed by one of Mfungelwa's 'Levies'about 2 inches below the right nipple which must have been fatal.

The stomach was then ripped open from groin to sternum to allow the spirit to escape, in accordance with Zulu custom.

Although doubt therefore still exists in the minds of many about what really happened to the man who gave his name to the rebellion, the massacre in the Mome Gorge on the 10th June 1906 will be remembered as one of the most tragic episodes in the military history of KwaZulu-Natal.

While the battle of Mome Gorge broke the back of the Rebellion, unrest broke out in the Lower Thukela River area at the end of June and in early July 1906, led by several influential amakhosi. These included inkosi Meseni kaMusi Qwabe (a descendant of the brother of Zulu, the founder of the Zulu nation), Mashwili kaMngoya (grandson of Dingiswayo kaJobe) and inkosi Ndlovu kaThimuni Zulu.

Their followers put up a determined resistance during the actions at Macrae's Store (2 July 1906), Nsuze (2 July 1906), Mpumulwana (3 July 1906), Ponjwana (3 July 1906) and Izinsimba (8 July 1906) but they were unable to match the firepower of the colonial forces and by mid-July 1906 the Rebellion had ended.

The Bhambatha Rebellion is considered to be the beginning of the armed struggle by Black South Africans.

* Also known as the Natal/Zulu/Bambatha Rebellion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Durban in 1947, Ken Gillings matriculated at Westville Boys High School before joining a national food manufacturer, based in Pinetown. Recently retired, he remains involved in commerce as a national sales consultant. In 1965 he joined the Natal Field Artillery, retiring in 1988 as Regimental Sergeant Major. Posted to HQ Unit of 74 Brigade, he served in the Task Force KZN Communications Section as a battlefield guide. An active member of the SA Military History Society, he is committed to the heritage of the country, and particularly KwaZulu-Natal. An author of several books and an extensive portfolio of newspaper and magazine articles, Ken Gillings is a respected specialist battlefields guide.

He can be contacted on 083 654 5880 or e-mailed Ken Gillings

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