Pietermaritzburg. He had been asked by Sir Henry McCallum to give
orders for the arrest of any rebels who might find their way to Usutu
and have them conveyed to the local Magistrate. On this Magistrate
subsequently sending a list of eight rebels who had been recently seen
in his ward, Dinuzulu caused five, and another not specially asked for,
to be delivered two weeks later--3rd July.
On the morning of the same day, however, Siyekiwe, the wife of the
notorious rebel Bambata, and two of his children, a girl (about 16)
and a boy (about 14), turned up suddenly at Mahlabatini magistracy,
having, as they declared, left Dinuzulu's kraal the evening before and
travelled through the night. They had deserted, owing to a threat by
Dinuzulu to remove them to a remote region in the north. As the Chief
had led the Government to believe there were no rebels at his kraal, he
determined to rid himself once for all of the woman and children. They
had at length become a nuisance, although he believed, or professed
to believe, his friend Bambata to be still alive. It was owing to
Dinuzulu's not informing Siyekiwe of Bambata's death that she did not
shave her head, as is universally customary among Zulus and other
Natal tribes. The failure to do this was of the greatest importance in
keeping alive the impression among Natives in general that Bambata was
not dead, but roaming about somewhere. If his favourite wife, the one
who had accompanied him in his flight to Usutu, did not believe in his
being dead, no one else would, as she was not unnaturally looked on
as the principal authority in such matter. Who, they argued, can know
better than a woman if her husband be dead or not? Not the woman, but
Dinuzulu appears to be responsible for the false impression that was
circulated far and wide.
When Dinuzulu went to Pietermaritzburg, he had temporarily secreted the
woman and children at a kraal a few miles off. That of a thoroughly
reliable adherent was selected. But as the woman, quite young and
rather good-looking, was not without male friends, she, on being
recalled to Usutu, heard of the scheme, whereupon she made a plan and
speedily got completely beyond Dinuzulu's reach. Then was the fat in
the fire!
The fugitives were passed by the Magistrate to Sir Charles Saunders
who, amazed to hear their numerous revelations, had them conveyed
to Pietermaritzburg, where the whole story was carefully reduced to
writing.
And what was the story? Briefly this. About a month before the attack
on the Police in Mpanza valley (4th April, 1906), and when the Police
were attempting to arrest Bambata for refusing to obey a summons
from the Government, a Native messenger arrived to say Dinuzulu
wished Bambata to come to him, the former having heard he was unhappy
through being harassed by the Government and Europeans generally.
After conferring with members of the tribe until lately presided over
by himself, he left for Usutu, taking with him the woman and three
children (by two other wives). Travelling on foot, the party reached
Usutu in a few days. Here Bambata had several interviews with Dinuzulu
and his indunas, Mankulumana and Mgwaqo. He was treated with every
consideration. Suitable accommodation and food were found for him, his
wife and children. Bambata informed his wife that, at the interviews he
had had with Mankulumana and others, he had been reproved for showing
cowardice on the occasion of the Police entering his ward to arrest
him. It was considered he should have shown fight. Bambata queried
how it was possible for him to go to war with Europeans. "Have you
no people?" they asked. "A few," he replied. "Few though they be, you
ought to have come into conflict. What do you suppose caused us to
fight in 1879? Do you think we did so by the aid of drugs?"
The day before Bambata's departure for Natal, he was summoned to where
Dinuzulu, Mankulumana and others were. "The room I was seated in,"
says Siyekiwe, "was close by where Dinuzulu was with the men referred
to, and I could hear distinctly what was said. I heard Mankulumana say
to Bambata 'There is nothing more that we have to say to you to-day.
To-day we give you this weapon, a Mauser rifle, and we say: Go across
into Natal and commence hostilities. We give you Ngqengqengqe, whom we
direct to go back with you, also Cakijana.... After causing an outbreak
of hostilities, you will remove into the Nkandhla district. Do not be
afraid through thinking that the fighting is brought about by you. We,
not you, are responsible for it....' The words I have given were spoken
by Makulumana in the presence of Dinuzulu in an audible voice.... My
husband said he hoped that they would not deceive him, make a fool of
him, and deny the fact that they were the originators of what they
wanted him to do. My husband was also instructed thus: 'After you have
started the fighting and fled for refuge to the Nkandhla forest, we
will meet you there.'"
The rifle, said to have been handed to Bambata by Mankulumana in
Dinuzulu's presence, with cartridges done up in a piece of white cloth,
were seen by the three. Bambata then left. Some time afterwards,
Dinuzulu informed the woman that a rebellion had broken out in Mpanza
valley, and that her husband had fled to Nkandhla forest.
When the Commissioner for Native Affairs made his visit to Usutu early
in April, 1906, the woman was there the whole time, carefully concealed
in the harem.[313]
There is no necessity to refer to other items in the story, such as the
visits and harbouring of various rebels, seeing they belong rather to
criminal proceedings than to a history. These proceedings, as well as
the foregoing crucial fact, will be briefly dealt with later. Suffice
it to say, the woman and children had been actually harboured by
Dinuzulu, fed, accommodated and medically treated at his own expense
for a period of over fifteen months. During that period, the boy was
appointed cleaner of the large number of guns possessed by Dinuzulu,
many of them illegally held. And yet the Chief had been called on
officially from time to time to produce all guns in his possession for
registration.
Not long after the woman and children had given their sensational
evidence, the one corroborating the other, they were permitted to
return to their relations at Mpanza.
The position now became clearer, though still complicated.
Sir Henry McCallum's object, when he had his interviews with Dinuzulu,
was so to rouse the Chief to a sense of his duty as to cause him,
on getting back to Usutu, forthwith to put his house in order and
discontinue his unsatisfactory behaviour. We have seen the way in
which he treated the Governor's suggestion about appearing before
the Commission, and what he did about handing over the rebels who
had taken refuge in his ward. Although called on later to deliver up
other rebels, declared by reliable informants to have been recently at
Usutu, he neglected to do so, on the plea that the men had not been
there. The Governor also advised that all firearms in his possession
should be given up. According to the evidence of Bambata's wife
and children, especially the boy, and to other testimony, Dinuzulu
possessed many more guns than had been registered, consequently he
had failed between the time of getting home and when the woman and
children deserted--a period of at least three weeks--to act on the
Governor's advice.[314] What was his object in not wishing to disclose
that he had these unregistered guns? He, moreover, had held a hunt in
August, extending over a fortnight, in the Black Umfolozi valley, at
which, as reliable information went to show, he secretly inspected
about 150 breech-loading rifles in possession of his people, including
his bodyguard, 'Nkomondala.' On the same occasion, he is said to have
told his most confidential advisers "that he had experienced great
difficulty in getting Mauser ammunition, but that there was not the
same difficulty with regard to the ordinary .303 ammunition, as he
could get this from agents at Delagoa Bay ... and was expecting 2,000
rounds from that source, which would be conveyed to him in bundles of
cat-skins, ostensibly brought up from there by Portuguese Natives for
sale amongst the Zulus."[315]
In reply to Dinuzulu's remark that he had not assumed the position of
Government Induna, that being one of the conditions under which he was
repatriated from St. Helena in 1898, the Governor had told him he would
at once be given that position, but such appointment would necessitate
his coming into closer touch with the Magistrate, Nongoma, than was
possible at Usutu. The suggestion that, in assuming the position, he
should move closer to the magistracy was, however, apparently ignored.
In addition to these unsatisfactory features, was the far graver one of
the murders that had been and were still being committed. Apart from
those of the Magistrate of Mahlabatini, Tshikana, Mnqandi and Gence,
that of Sitshitshili had occurred in August, and the attempted one of
Sergt. Wilkinson early in September. The strongest representations
were made to the Commissioner by many loyal Natives that "the failure
to obtain a conviction against the murderers of the Magistrate (Mr.
Stainbank), or to bring to justice the murderers of certain Natives,
and the belief that these murders had been instigated by Dinuzulu,
were creating a doubt in the minds of loyal Natives as to the power
of the Government to redress such wrongs, the fear that further
murders would be perpetrated with impunity, and that Dinuzulu, by a
course of terrorism, would win over the allegiance of heretofore loyal
Natives, increase his power and independence, and so bring on another
rebellion."[316]
The Police sent to patrol Zululand after Sitshitshili's murder, visited
north-eastern and northern Zululand, and ended by passing by Usutu
on the 30th September. Everywhere the people were quiet and orderly.
The only uneasiness exhibited was when the force, under Inspector O.
Dimmick, got near Usutu. As it approached, many Natives proceeded to
the kraal. Halting some distance off, Dimmick sent Inspector C.E.
Fairlie and two troopers to see Dinuzulu. The Natives, of whom less
than 100 were then seen at the kraal (though reliable evidence received
later showed that many others were concealed in a _donga_ near by)
became disturbed, wondering why an armed force had come that way. After
speaking to Dinuzulu, Fairlie inspected the kraal. The Police then
moved towards Nongoma.
Intelligence was, at the same time, received that Dinuzulu had, two
or three weeks previously, been "doctored for war by a Native doctor,
either from Pondoland or Basutoland," and that certain ceremonies had
been carried out similar to those in vogue in the days of Tshaka.[317]
An old Boer farmer of Vryheid district, Mr. Conrad Meyer, long a friend
of Dinuzulu, paid the latter a visit in October, when, after several
interviews, he came to much the same opinion as to the Chief's loyalty
as Sir Charles Saunders had so consistently held during 1906.
Whilst the Government, with the foregoing and other facts before it,
was seriously considering what action should be taken, an attempt was
made (7th October) to murder Mapoyisa, principal son and heir of the
Chief Mbuzo, as well as another Native of the same tribe. The evidence
went to show that the two would-be murderers had come from Usutu kraal.
But people had hardly grasped the facts connected with this attempt
when another cold-blooded murder was committed, this time on an elderly
and respected Chief, Mpumela. The lives of two other loyalists were
attempted about the same time (November). An attempt is also said
to have been made on a storekeeper, George, formerly in the Police.
His store, about six miles from Usutu, was destroyed by fire. It is,
however, possible the latter occurrence was due to lightning.
Information also came in that the ringleaders of the previous year's
rebellion, Mangati and Cakijana, had for long been harboured by
Dinuzulu, although well knowing that warrants were out for their
arrest. The former, captured in November in Vryheid district, stated
on oath that Dinuzulu had been and was still instigating the murders.
He (Dinuzulu), in short, seemed "determined," as the Administrator
pointed out to the Secretary of State in August, "on a course of
self-aggrandizement, of cool defiance or indifference to the wishes of
the Government, and of open hostility to those Natives who had been
loyal; and it was clear that his attitude and actions were becoming a
serious cause of unrest and apprehension amongst the loyal Natives, and
a menace to the peace of the country."
It was in view of all these and other circumstances, too numerous to
refer to, that the Government, supported by the Attorney-General,
ultimately decided to issue a warrant for Dinuzulu's arrest on a charge
of high treason,[318] and to mobilize a large portion of the Militia to
reinforce the Police when proceeding to execute the warrants.
For other reasons, Dinuzulu became very agitated about this time. The
arrival of the Police on the 30th September, and especially their being
stationed at Nongoma, twelve miles from his kraal, greatly upset him.
He contemplated leaving Usutu and establishing himself on the Black
Umfolozi, where the hunt had recently been held. He dispatched earnest
letters to the Governor, Prime Minister, and Under Secretary for Native
Affairs, asking for fair play, expressing confidence in his rulers,
etc.; he followed these up, on the day that the troops reached Zululand
(3rd December), with an urgent message through the Magistrate, Nongoma,
portions of which ran as follows:
"I have heard that it is the intention of Government to send and take
me by surprise shortly after Christmas.... I do not understand this,
and want to know if there is any truth in it, as I know of no wrong
that I have done. If Government think I am in the wrong over anything,
why does it not place me on trial and punish me if found guilty? I am
also surprised to hear that the court-house at Nongoma has been placed
in a state of defence. Police are camped all round it.... Nothing is
wrong in this division, as far as I know. The only place where things
are wrong is Nkandhla division, and I am not responsible for what
happens there; and in my opinion, ... these murders are being committed
there on account of Government having given cattle which belonged to
rebels to different people in that division, and the original owners of
these cattle resent seeing their cattle in other people's possession."
In the meantime, however, seeing that the several murders and other
crimes against public order recently committed in Zululand had caused
widespread unrest and fear of violence to law-abiding people, and as,
in order to restore order and confidence, it was imperative to arrest
all persons concerned in the crimes, a proclamation was issued on the
30th November directing the strengthening of the forces in Zululand
to enable the arrests to be effected. Orders were, at the same time,
issued for the mobilization already referred to of the greater portion
of the Active Militia. The troops actually called out were 188 officers
and 1,928 of other ranks.
There was good reason to suppose that Dinuzulu's immediately available
_impi_ was comparatively insignificant, notwithstanding his hasty
endeavours to augment it under the shallow pretext of the young men
being required to 'weed his gardens.' Such appeals had been made to
Chiefs living outside Zululand, viz. in Vryheid and Ngotshe districts.
Mr. Meyer had reported "one sees at a glance that he (Dinuzulu) is a
man of rank without followers." That the force dispatched to deal with
him was so overwhelmingly strong, was due solely to the Government's
wish to overawe armed rebels or others at Usutu against all forms
of resistance. It was recognized that an outbreak at Usutu might be
taken by the Zulus as the signal for a general rising. Another reason
was that Silwana, a powerful Chief of Weenen, whose levy, it will be
remembered, behaved unsatisfactorily during the Rebellion, was said to
be calling on his people to rebel.
Units mobilized with the same remarkable rapidity that had
characterized their movements in the preceding year, and were ordered
to proceed by rail direct to Gingindhlovu. This station, on the
Zululand coast and nearly twenty miles from Eshowe, was reached on the
evening of the 3rd December.[319] On the same day, martial law was
proclaimed, to operate, however, in Zululand only. Owing to the sudden,
and necessarily sudden, mobilization, no preparation was made to fill
up the places of those who had been called away. The ex-Commandant
(Colonel Bru-de-Wold) was hastily summoned from Port Shepstone and
asked to arrange for the defence of Natal in the event of hostilities
breaking out in Zululand. The necessary organization was carried out
in a thorough-going manner. The Reserves in sixteen districts (_vide_
Appendix VII.) were called out and ordered to patrol their respective
districts.
As soon as Dinuzulu's message was received, the Government, although
the troops were by then well on their way to Gingindhlovu, thought it
necessary to advise the Chief that there was no intention to take him
by surprise, and that the Chief Commissioner of Police was being sent
"to require him to surrender himself in order that charges against
him might be tried." He was, at the same time, directed to proceed to
Nongoma and there await the police officer.
A communication such as this could not, of course, do otherwise than
bring about confusion among the troops that were concentrating at
Gingindhlovu, through altering elaborate arrangements which had already
been made for their subsequent advance.
The position, from the Government's point of view, was a difficult
one, but with martial law proclaimed, and the troops actually in the
field, the stronger and better course, perhaps, would have been to have
referred Dinuzulu's communication to the O.C. Troops to deal with as he
might have considered necessary under the circumstances. As it was, his
hands were tied, and his plans considerably upset.
That the Ministry were not alone in their desire for settlement of a
trouble inherited to some extent from their predecessors, can be seen
from the following remarks by the Governor, Sir Matthew Nathan, to
the Secretary of State: "Though I am doubtful whether this situation
would have arisen if Ministers had at once, after the suppression of
last year's Rebellion, or even at a later date, adopted the policy
of amnesty and conciliation, and had thereby prevented Dinuzulu from
acquiring the power he has done by protecting outlaws and by reason of
the country remaining unsettled, yet I recognize that, under existing
conditions, with a growing tale of unpunished murders attributed
throughout the country to that Chief, it was not possible for the
Government to remain inactive."[320]
The previous Government had, however, been out of office for over a
year. During such time, the new Government had had, and had taken
advantage of, opportunities of ameliorating the conditions as far as
was possible. More was to follow as soon as time had been given to
introduce some of the legislation recommended by the Native Affairs
Commission. If the Government erred in not declaring an amnesty sooner,
or in not releasing prisoners in larger lots than it did, that gave
Dinuzulu no right to persist in disloyal and treasonable behaviour.
At no moment could a general amnesty have cured such position as then
existed. The fact that such policy had answered in other parts of the
world, or even in Zululand after the 1888 disturbances, cannot be taken
as a formula to apply to circumstances which happen to be similar in
a few respects. Had a general amnesty been attempted sooner than it
was, it would have been a blunder and enabled Dinuzulu, especially as
rumours were current in Zululand at the time that _he_ was going to
secure an amnesty, to pose as liberator-general, although known to be
actively and flagrantly disloyal. It would have been to place a premium
on still more serious rebellion in the future. The only remedy was the
one adopted, namely, to remove the source of mischief once for all.
That the Ministers were not mistaken in the view they took, will be
seen further on. As it was, between July and the issue of the warrants
for Dinuzulu's arrest, some 500 to 600 prisoners had been released,
whilst, as soon as the arrest was made, Ministers decided to release
the remainder at short intervals, 300 at a time.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 310: Report. Native Affairs Commission, 25th July, 1907.]
[Footnote 311: Deposition by Mgunguluzo, 1st Feb. 1907.]
[Footnote 312: Cd. 3,888, p. 83.]
[Footnote 313: It will be remembered that Mr. Saunders, while at Usutu,
got a telegram saying Bambata had broken into rebellion, and that he
told Dinuzulu this, whereupon the latter and his indunas were, says the
Commissioner, "unanimous in their expressions of indignation; their
frank demeanour left no doubt in my mind that these expressions were
perfectly genuine and that Dinuzulu and his people were not in any way
associated with Bambata and his doings."--Cd. 3,207, p. 31. And yet
the wife and children of the very man whose acts they had unanimously
condemned to the principal executive officer of the Government were not
100 yards away as they were speaking!]
[Footnote 314: It was definitely proved later that Dinuzulu was in
possession of unregistered guns at the time of his arrest (December,
1907). Hence his opportunity of conforming to the Governor's advice
extended over six months.]
[Footnote 315: Minute, C.N.A. to Prime Minister, 23rd Aug. 1907.]
[Footnote 316: Administrator (Mr. W.H. Beaumont) to Secretary of State,
29th Aug. 1907.]
[Footnote 317: Minute by Magistrate, Ndwandwe district, 29th Sept.
1907.]
[Footnote 318: There was also another warrant, charging him with being
in possession of unregistered firearms.]
[Footnote 319: Of the Carbineers, one of the newspapers reported:
"They were the first to get orders ... and in an incredibly short time
were on their way to Zululand. The regiment is to be congratulated on
being referred to in a despatch by the Prime Minister to the Governor
as having performed 'one of, if not the quickest mobilizations on
record.'" Receiving orders to mobilize on the 30th November, the
Headquarters squadrons entrained at 5.15 p.m. on the 2nd, and reached
Gingindhlovu at 5.35 a.m. on the 3rd December.]
[Footnote 320: Cd. 3,888, p. 182.]
XXI.
DINUZULU EXPEDITION.--SURRENDER OF DINUZULU.--CALLING IN OF
FIREARMS.--SEARCHING FOR OUTSTANDING REBELS.
The Government's decision to arrest Dinuzulu was communicated at once
to the Commandant. This officer had already been put in command of the
Natal Police Reserve, under Dimmick, at Nongoma. On the 24th November,
100 Natal Police, under Inspector W.F. Lyttle, left Pietermaritzburg;
fifty of these proceeded to Melmoth, whilst the balance reinforced
Dimmick.
Dimmick got orders to make it known that the additional men were
considered necessary to effectually patrol the district, then in a
disturbed state in consequence of the recent murders. Lyttle was
instructed to pay a visit by himself to Emtonjaneni heights, and there
select a site for a camp a mile from Emtonjaneni store, and along the
road to Nkandhla. He was, at the same time, advised that he would be
ordered to move his camp there at an early date. The object was, in
this and other ways, to create the impression that the next movement of
troops would be to Nkandhla for the purpose of arresting murderers, and
certain unpardoned rebels known to be still in hiding in that district.
A detachment of N.P. that was at Mahlabatini joined Lyttle at Melmoth.