uHamu kaNzibe or Hamu kaNzibe (c. 1834–1887) was a Zulu chieftain,

half-brother A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separat ...

and great rival of king

Cetshwayo King Cetshwayo kaMpande (; ; 1826 – 8 February 1884) was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1879 and its Commander in Chief during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchw ...

History

Rivalry between the sons of Zulu king

Mpande Mpande kaSenzangakhona (1798–18 October 1872) was monarch of the Zulu Kingdom from 1840 to 1872. He was a half-brother of Sigujana, Shaka and Dingane, who preceded him as Zulu kings. He came to power after he had overthrown Dingane in 1840. ...

was rife, even during his lifetime; he lived until 1872. Although uHamu was the eldest son of Mpande, he was not favored by his father, and Zulu succession would be determined by whose mother was eventually selected as Mpande's "Great Wife". Mpande first favored Umtonga, then groomed Mbuyazi to succeed him, but finally decided that

was a better choice. This rivalry led in 1856 to the

Battle of Ndondakusuka The Battle of Ndondakusuka (2 December 1856) was the culmination of a succession struggle in the Zulu Kingdom between Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi, the two eldest sons of the king Mpande, often known as the Second Zulu Civil War. Mbuyazi was defeated at ...

and the death of Mbuyazi, and several of Mpande's other sons. At this point, if not sooner, Cetshwayo became the ''

defacto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' king, although King Mpande continued the ceremonial duties. Then Mpande's son Umtonga asserted himself, but in turn felt the wrath of Cetshwayo. In 1861 after Cetshwayo ordered the deaths of his half-brothers, sons of Mpande's favorite wife Nomantshali; Umtonga took the hint and fled to northwest Zululand, which under agreements of 1852 and 1854 made by Mpande, was occupied by the

Boers Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this area ...

, who knew it as Utrecht district. Cetshwayo offered the Boers an additional strip of land along the border if they would surrender his brother, but they did so under the condition that Cetshwayo wouldn't kill him. Mpande signed a deed making over the land to the Boers. The southern boundary of that strip ran from

Rorke's Drift The Battle of Rorke's Drift (1879), also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the ...

on the Buffalo River to a point on the Pongola. A cairn was set up in 1864 demarking the new border, but when in 1865 Umtonga again fled from Zululand to Natal, Cetywayo, seeing that he had lost his part of the bargain (for he feared that Umtonga might be used to supplant him as Mpande had been used to supplant Dingane), caused the cairn to be removed. This became the "Disputed Land" that led in part to the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

. In order to forestall his rivals, chief among whom were his half brothers Umtonga and uHama, Cetshwayo invited the British, in the person of

Theophilus Shepstone Theophilus Shepstone Sir Theophilus Shepstone (8 January 181723 June 1893) was a British South African statesman who was responsible for the annexation of the Transvaal to Britain in 1877. Early life Theophilus Shepstone was born at Westbury-o ...

, to his September 1873 coronation. Under Zulu succession law (''ukuvuza''), uHamu was

inKosi Inkosi, otherwise appearing as Nkosi, is the Zulu and Xhosa for chieftain in Southern Africa. Inkosikazi is the equivalent term for a chieftess. An inkosi that has authority over several subordinate inkosis is traditionally referred to as an In ...

(chief) of the Ngenetsheni people, who lived in northwestern Zululand, including formerly in the "Disputed Land". As eldest he had inherited it from his uncle Nzibe, the senior son of

Senzangakhona King Senzangakhona kaJama (c. 1762 – 1816) was the king of the Zulu Kingdom, and primarily notable as the father of three Zulu kings who ruled during the period when the Zulus achieved prominence, led by his oldest son King Shaka. Biography ...

. He maintained his stronghold at kwaMfemfe. During the Second Zulu Civil War uHamu fought alongside Cetshwayo. He remained a member of the Zulu royal council (''iBandla'') until 1879. In late 1878, uHamu opened negotiations with the British hoping to get their support for his taking the Zulu throne. In March 1879, he joined Evelyn Wood's forces at

Kambula Kambula, Khambula or ( Zulu Nkambule) is a town located at in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. It is the location where the Battle of Kambula was fought in 1879, the result of which was a British Empire victory over the Zulu people ...

. In retribution, Cetshwayo subsequently sent an army unit to destroy the Ngenetsheni villages and cattle, thus setting the stage for the Third Zulu Civil War of 1883–1884.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:kaNzibe, uHamu Zulu topics Zulu history 1887 deaths History of KwaZulu-Natal Monarchies of South Africa People of the Anglo-Zulu War 19th-century Zulu people Year of birth uncertain

History

See also

Notes and references