ned the amaNdebele and set them on a course for the south, and at last a rendezvous with their estranged kinsmen. It is uncertain how long the two groups remained separated, and also the degree, if any, of communication that had passed between them during that period, but Mzilikazi was appalled at the state of affairs at Gibixhegu when the rendezvous was finally made.
It quickly became apparent to him that in his absence moves had been underway to replace him. His response to this state of affairs is strongly suggestive of the fact that it did not come about as a consequence of a genuine belief among his people that he and his impi had died in the wilderness, but more that advantage was taken of his absence by those with an interest in a realignment of power in the nation. Many examinations have been made of this event, and the ramifications that followed, but without clear records it is hard to pinpoint precisely where the roots of treason lay. However Mzilikazi promptly identified all those that had been involved, and many who simply might have been involved, and executed them all. This was followed by the more clinical selection of many others that posed the greatest potential threat to the stability of his rule who were also killed.
During the long separation of the two groups it seems that the senior Indunas present at Gibixhegu, with the possible exception of uMncumbata, whose whereabouts at this time are not clear, had elected to replace Mzilikazi by his son nKulumane. This suggests that the source of the conspiracy to unseat Mzilikazi was one or other of his senior wives, most notably the mother of nKulumane, who, if not directly serving as regent during the minority of the child, would at the very least be able to exercise enough influence to prevent Mzilikazi’s return before the boy came of age, and perhaps even orchestrate his death or exile.
However the scheme was devised, and whatever might have been its motivation, it was an injustice to the child who, upon the likely failure of the plot, could expect to be promptly executed, which was indeed what happened. This was ordered by Mzilikazi, and conducted according to the understanding that no royal blood be spilled. The prince, who was at that time aged between 13 and 15, was either garrotted or his neck was broken. The same fate was also ordained for other princes, the first of which, uBuhhlelo, was executed in a similar manner, although the youngest, Lobengula, was secreted away by the Induna Gwabalanda, who hid the child, and at enormous risk reported back to Mzilikazi that he too had been executed. In the meanwhile the bloodletting continued with the execution of the mothers of the three boys, which tends to add credence to their involvement ion a conspiracy.
The reasons for such a sweeping and demonstrative response to any threat to Mzilikazi’s leadership, although clearly unjust to the many who had remained loyal, and had acted perhaps on a justifiable need for defined leadership in difficult circumstances, are clear in the context of the times, and certainly in the light of Mzilikazi’s style of leadership itself. The amaNdebele at that time were made up of a heterogeneous mixture of peoples whose bonds of mutual loyalty, although apparently firm, had never been truly tested. The exodus and division had been traumatic with bonds of loyalty stretched to a breaking point. If even the merest germ of divided loyalty had been allowed to take root in the soil of their new home the cohesion of the amaNdebele could not long hope to survive. Both clan and individual survival depended on strong and decisive leadership, and as unfairly as this may have fallen on otherwise loyal subjects, dedication to the common goal of national survival superseded any individual rights. It was this that was sought, and once achieved Mzilikazi relaxed and applied himself then to the healing of his shattered nation.
The fate of nKulumane, meanwhile, and the events that followed Mzilikazi’s execution order, although apparently resolved at that time, did not in fact conclude with this