A history of the Zulu Rebellion, 1906, and of Dinuzulu's arrest, trial, and expatriation

by James Stuart

A lawyer (Mr. E. Renaud, of Durban), who had been engaged on behalf of Dinuzulu, and who arrived before the messengers had left, was allowed to write advising the Chief as to the course to pursue. Permission was, moreover, given him to communicate with Dinuzulu at any time, on condition that his letters were produced for inspection.

On the 8th and 9th, further messages came from Dinuzulu, the main subject of which was the ways and means of surrendering. It was decided to send an ambulance as far towards Usutu kraal as it was possible to get, leaving the intervening three miles to be traversed by him on horseback. Capt. Stuart proceeded on the 9th to receive the surrender at the spot agreed on. Instead of being at the place about noon as arranged, Dinuzulu did not get there till 7 p.m. He arrived with a small following, a number of whom accompanied the waggon all the way to the magistracy (fifteen miles). In consequence of Dinuzulu's delay, hilly country, and a dark night, Nongoma was not reached until 11.15 p.m. As accommodation was naturally very limited and as it was drizzling, the Chief was given a room within the gaol and made as comfortable as possible. It turned out he had previously dispatched a party with a marquee and tents in charge of Mankulumana to the magistracy by another route, in the hope that there would be no objection to his putting up outside the lager. This, however, could not be allowed, though there was no objection to his pitching and occupying the tents within the lager. Under the circumstances, he preferred to remain where he was, i.e. in one of the gaol cells.

The formal interview with the Commandant took place at 3 p.m. on the following day. Mankulumana, Mgwaqo and Ncapayi (his secretary) were allowed to be present. Dinuzulu, who was well dressed in European costume, and wore a military helmet, walked with ease from the gaol to the court-house, a distance of about 150 yards.[323] As, by this time, many of the troops had arrived, there was a large gathering of spectators when the interview took place. The Commandant said he was glad Dinuzulu had had the good sense to surrender because, had he not done so, it would have been necessary to enforce the orders of the Government, when many innocent people might have been injured. There had been various murders of black as well as white people going on in the country. The Government was determined to put a stop to such crimes. Dinuzulu had evidently been exercising an evil influence in the country, and had become a menace to law and order. The three columns then in Zululand and Vryheid district had, he was told, entered Zululand to put an end to the disorder, and would not leave until all the prevailing unrest had disappeared.

The Chief replied that he could not imagine what offence he had committed. That he should be charged with high treason, as he had been informed was the case, was ridiculous. How could a man like himself think of taking up arms against the Government? Where was he to procure the men wherewith to oppose his father? He requested to be informed of the specific accusations that had been made against him. These, said the Commandant, were known to the Government, and would be communicated in due course by the proper authorities. It was on these that the warrant for his arrest had been issued. The Government would, no doubt, arrange for a fair and impartial trial by civil tribunal, and ample time would be afforded within which to prepare a defence.

Dinuzulu maintained that, ever since his return from St. Helena, he had conducted himself in a proper manner. He was surprised to learn that he was regarded as exerting a harmful influence. Moreover, it was strange that he, who was nothing more than a Chief, with jurisdiction confined to a limited and definite area, could be said to have exerted an influence throughout the entire country.

Neither Mankulumana nor the other two Natives made any remarks at the interview, which lasted about forty minutes.

No sooner was it noised abroad in the tribe that their Chief had been put under arrest than the principal men collected and proceeded in a body, on the 10th, to the magistracy. There were between 200 and 300 present. They said they had come to ask why Dinuzulu had been arrested. After the foregoing interview, they were called up. They sat in a semi-circle as Sir Duncan McKenzie addressed them from the verandah of the court-house. His remarks were similar to those he had just made to the Chief himself. The Government, he said, was tired of the murders that had been and were still going on, and its determination to put a stop thereto was apparent from the fact of troops having been sent into the country. Full powers had been given him to act as he saw fit, and he intended to exercise them should necessity arise. Martial law had been proclaimed, hence it was very lucky that the event, of which they all knew,[324] had taken place, for had the troops been obliged to go into the field, many innocent people might have lost their lives. Many of those present were no doubt averse to being dragged into matters of that kind. All who were loyal to the Government would be supported. Some eighteen months before, when in command at Nkandhla, he had dealt somewhat leniently with the insurgents. Had a single shot been fired at Nongoma, and had there been a recrudescence of rebellion, he would have been obliged to act in a far more drastic manner, hence it was extremely fortunate things had turned out as they had done. He concluded by advising all to go back to their homes and live there quietly and peaceably.

Whilst negotiations for the surrender were in progress, intelligence was received that Dinuzulu was either forwarding, or had already forwarded, his guns to certain Chiefs of Vryheid and Ngotshe districts for concealment. There was, moreover, ground for believing that certain Natives in the same districts had recently taken up arms at his request. For these reasons, the Northern Districts, with the exception of Utrecht, were, on the application of the Commandant, also placed under martial law on the 9th, to enable him to deal with all Natives concerned.

With the object of obtaining full information of what was occurring in Vryheid district and Usutu kraal, the Minister of Justice (Hon. T.F. Carter, K.C.), proceeded to Nongoma, reaching there on the 12th.

As it was not unlikely that a few of the rebels of 1906 were still in hiding at or near Usutu, and that firearms were also concealed there, arrangements were made for a surprise visit to the notorious kraal. McKenzie arranged to converge thereon from different directions. The three columns employed, under Lieut.-Cols. Arnott, Weighton and Mackay, left Nongoma at different times on the night of the 12th. The night was misty and dark, especially as the grass of much of the area traversed had been recently burnt. The intention was that the columns should arrive simultaneously at the kraal, viz. at daybreak. The only one, however, that arrived in time, was that which took the nearest, though not the easiest, route. The reason for the delay on the part of two of the columns was the steep, rugged and trackless country through which they had had to march.