17/01/2026
Tomorrow, the 17th January is the 189th anniversary of the Battle of Mosega. Fought in 1837 it was the last battle Mzilikazi and his people fought on what is now South African soil. This extract is taken from Our Story Book 4 – a four part sub-series on the life of Mzilikazi.
5 The war that shook nations
After the terrible defeat at the Battle of Vegkop, the Matabele army limped back to Mzilikazi’s royal kraal, Ngabeni, to announce their defeat to Mzilikazi. As they trekked back across the open plains of the Highveld, another group of visitors had already reached the Great Bull Elephant’s domain. A group of travellers under the command of the British captain, William Cornwallis Harris, had arrived at the gates of Ngabeni, after asking Mzilikazi for permission to trade in his land.
William Cornwallis Harris was on a two-year holiday from the Indian Army. He had travelled with another British soldier named William Richardson of the Bombay Civil Service, and his right hand man, Nasserwanjee, from India. As befitting a great Chief, Mzilikazi kept these travellers waiting for a long time before he greeted them amongst loud cheering from his subjects. He walked out in his full royal uniform: a kilt made from leopard skins, an impressive head-ring of long green feathers and a bright blue bead necklace. Harris and his fellow travellers were impressed with Mzilikazi’s presence.
Even though he looked older and more comfortable from not being active in the latest battle, he was still an imposing figure.
The travellers stayed at Ngabeni for a short time, unaware of the slow return of the Matabele army from their defeat. During that time they traded goods with Mzilikazi. The Great Bull Elephant delighted in trying on Harris’ stuffy duffel coat, and also a tartan suit his friend Mrs Moffatt had made for him. He admired himself in a mirror brought by the travellers.
Mzilikazi thought these strange clothes were very funny, and even tried
on Nasserwanjee’s silk braces, Harris’ silk waistcoat and his woollen nightcap. During their stay, Harris also visited Mzilikazi in the centre of his kraal. There he was met by none other than Truey, the Griqua girl who was captured when Mzilikazi settled in to the Marico District.
Harris and his group spent three days at Ngabeni before crossing the Marico River and continuing their journey to Tolane. Not long after they had left, they crossed paths with a smart young man who announced that he was Kulumane, the eldest son of Mzilikazi. *Kulumane was named after Robert Moffatt’s ‘Kuruman’ missionary station, and although he was Mzilikazi’s heir, we shall soon see this was not his path. After this brief meeting, Harris and his group continued along the ‘traders’ road’, a faint
* Kulumane is buried in Phokeng outside Rustenburg.
wagon track that snaked along the veld. As they moved slowly along, they came across the returning Matabele troops on their way back from Vegkop.
The meeting of the two groups was tense, as the Matabele at first wondered if Harris was part of the Boers they had left behind. Harris was also worried that the Matabele troop would attack him, but as soon as they explained they had been Chief Mzilikazi’s guests at Ngabeni, the Matabele troops let them pass. Harris and his group headed southwards, while the Matabele troops continued west to meet Mzilikazi.
While the Matabele were nearing Mzilikazi’s stronghold at Ngabeni, the Boers were left stranded after a tough battle around Vegkop. Hendrik Potgieter, the leader of the group, immediately sent his brother, Hermanus, to get help from James Archbell, who had settled at Thaba Nchu – The Mountain at Night – in the Free State. Hermanus luckily arrived at a time when many Trekkers were making their way out of the Cape Colony to escape the rule of the British, and a large group had just arrived at Thaba Nchu under the command of Gerrit Maritz from Graaf Reneit.
They agreed to assist Hermanus in the north. They were joined by Chief Moroko, the Barolong Chief who ruled the area nearby. The Boers and the Barolong were united against the Matabele chief, and they prepared to march from Thaba Nchu to defeat the Great Bull Elephant once and for all. As Gerrit Maritz and the trekkers travelled to meet Hendrik Potgieter, they were told of a large amount of land north of the Vaal River left empty after the mfecane. It could be theirs to settle on if they could defeat the Matabele who ruled it.
As soon as Maritz arrived at Vegkop he began organising an army with
Hendrik Potgieter to over throw Mzilikazi. An alliance of many communities would be a strong force against the Matabele Chief. It was formed with the Boers under the command of Maritz and Potgieter, the Barolong under Chief Moroko, as well as with help from the Griqua leader Peter Davids. He had joined the troops to try and fi nd his children, Truey and Willem. Just before their attack they were also joined by the son of Manthatisi, Chief Sekonyela, who had also suffered a loss at the hands of Mzilikazi. The march against Mzilikazi began on 2 January 1837.
The allies travelled towards the Matabele kingdom for two full weeks. They secretly set up their fi rst campsite in Bobbejaansgat near Mosega, a valley hidden by four hills. That night a small war council was formed, and early the next morning the Boers climbed up the mountain known as Anntjieskop. They then sneaked down to the Matabele stronghold of Mkwahla with the help of Matlabe of the Barolong. As first light dawned they surrounded Mkwahla, which was under the protection of the Matabele induna, Mkalipi, and waited to attack.
The Boers were surprised that the Matabele were not already awake, but as the light grew brighter a Matabele soldier came outside. Potgieter immediately fi red an elephant gun, which sounded the alarm and brought all the Matabele soldiers out, grabbing their weapons as they emerged
from their huts. Their weapons, however, were no match for the Boer’s guns and the Matabele were forced to retreat to the north, followed closely by a regiment under the command of a Boer named Steyn.
The Matabele rallied briefly in an area close to Zeerust, but were no match for the Boer guns. They retreated further to the Matabele stronghold of Tshwenyane, under the command of the induna Marapu. The Boers eventually gave up the chase and returned to Mosega for a short while.
There they were met by the American missionaries, Dr Wilson and his colleagues. Dr Wilson asked to return with the Boers to the Cape Colony, as they had endured hardships at their mission station at Mosega. They were afraid that they would suffer more in the future at the hands of Mzilikazi if they stayed in the middle of this battle. The Boers, however, remained at Mosega for a short while and collected all the stray cattle, while the Griqua leader searched – unsuccessfully – for his children.
The news of the defeat spread south quickly, soon reaching the ears of Dingane. The Zulu Chief immediately gathered his own army and prepared to attack Mzilikazi’s strongholds while they were weak. He approached the grave of Shaka’s grandfather Senzangakhona, asking the Ancestors to protect his army in battle before marching across the Pongola River towards Mzilikazi’s kraals. The Zulu army reached the Marico River, the border of Mzilikazi’s domain, after a month of travelling.
For the third time in eight years, the two mighty clans met in battle.
At first, the Matabele were no match for the Zulu isiMpangela – the Guinea Fowl Regiment. But after being driven back, the Matabele army rallied and attacked their Zulu foes, reclaiming a lot of their land. After the Zulu warriors returned to Umgungundlovu they held victory celebrations, but the Matabele also celebrated victory, which means the outcome of this battle was undecided.
The Boers, however, left Mosega and founded the town of Winburg (a town that still stands in the Free State) in memory of winning the battle against the Matabele. The Boer community had grown quite large since the time Maritz had arrived at Thaba Nchu, and soon there were many disagreements over where they should settle. Some wanted to stay where they were. Others wanted to cross over the Vaal River. Some even wanted to continue travelling east, towards Zulu territory, which would later lead to the famous Battle of Blood River.
Hendrik Potgieter left Winburg and crossed the Vaal because of these arguments. This was the start of the Boer journey into an area known as the Transvaal, which is where we find the present-day provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West. The group of three-hundred-and-sixty Voortrekkers that left Winburg were led by Potgieter, as well as a Trekker named Pieter Uys, and they returned to a deserted
Mosega. They continued further to camp on the outskirts of Zeerust before approaching Tshwenyane, the stronghold of Marapu. At the time he was away at Ngabeni as he had been summoned by Mzilikazi.
The battle at Tshwenyane was similar to the one at Mkwahla, as the Matabele soldiers were no match for the guns of the Boers. They soon retreated to the north towards Ngabeni, leaving their cattle and grain in the hands of the Boers. The Boers continued their Trek towards Mzilikazi, until they reached the military stronghold under the command of Kampu. Little did they know, but the Great Bull Elephant had positioned his troops on a hill nearby and was waiting with his chief indunas, Marapu and Kampu.
The Matabele soldiers formed the signature ‘bull and horns’, where a strong central regiment (the isifuba, or chest) was flanked by two ‘horns’ (or isimpondo) that would run and encircle the enemy, attacking them from all sides.
The Boers, however, were aware of Mzilikazi’s military tactics, and as they approached they spread out in a long line, with two groups of horsemen guarding each end of their army. This made it difficult for the Matabele to surround them. Suddenly, the Matabele swooped down and the horsemen on the outskirts of the Boer troops fired at them ruthlessly. The Matabele were prevented from encircling the Boers who then opened fire right into the central regiments of their attackers. The Boer firepower drove the Matabele backwards to the hills, with Mzilikazi and his generals retreating until they were sure they were not being followed. As they turned back,
They saw smoke rising from Kampu’s stronghold and realised that the Boers had set fire to the military kraal. The Matabele then saw the Boers emerge from a wall of smoke, heading directly for them. The ‘bull and horns’ formation failed for the second time and the continued firepower of the Boers drove the Matabele troops even further back.
Eventually, the Boers drove the Matabele as far as Ngabeni, Mzilikazi’s chief kraal. They spread out in a line, expecting the same military formation from Mzilikazi, but were surprised to see a herd of cattle protecting the Matabele warriors. Mzilikazi had chosen to adopt a different tactic, and had started a cattle stampede toward the Boers in the hope that it would disperse them.
The Boers, however, opened fire on the cattle until the herd changed direction to charge on the Matabele. As the herd dispersed, the Matabele troops were exposed, and the Boers once again opened fire on them. Once again, the Matabele men, women and children had no choice but to flee from Ngabeni, running north towards the Dwarsberg Mountains. The Boers followed closely behind them. Mzilikazi had ordered that the old men, women and children flee to the northern bushveld under the guidance of the induna Gudwane and his Amnyama-Makanda – the Black Heads – while he stayed and fought with the rest of his army.
The further north the Matabele retreated, the steeper the mountains became, until they were only accessible by foot. Eventually the Boers, who were riding on tired horses, were commanded by Potgieter to turn back to the Marico River. On the way they collected all the cattle and grain they could. As they passed by Kampu’s deserted military kraal, they were shocked to see that vultures, jackals and maggots had already reduced the fallen Matabele to skeletons. So the Boers named the area Maairskop, or ‘Maggot Hill’.
It now serves as a reminder of one of the most brutal battles in South African history. As for Mzilikazi and his nation, this marked the end of their time in the Marico District. It was, however, the start of a whole new chapter for them north of the Marico River, in Botswana and Zimbabwe.
