Mbilini waMswati

Prince Mbilini, otherwise known as Mbilini waMswati, was a Swazi prince and son of Mswati II.

Life

Prince Mbilini is the eldest son of King Mswati II by his first wife LaMakhasiso. From an early age he was said to have inherited his father’s military flair, and one rather colourful missionary account suggested that at the age of 12 he had been wrapped in the fresh pelt of a savage dog, in the belief that he would assume some of its ferocity.

He was born in 1843, the son of King Mswati and his first wife, laMakhasiso Dvuba. Mbilini was apparently King Swati’s favourite son and when the king died in 1865, Prince Mbilini declared himself a contender for the succession. As the son of his father’s first wife, however, he was technically ineligible and, after a failed power struggle with his brothers, he was ousted and fled Swaziland, Prince Mbilini’s wife Princess Temave Buhlebendzalo Mbokane, known as LaMbokane, was the eldest daughter of Chief Ntengu Mbokane. Some missionary accounts indicate that they had three children: two daughters who were born in Swaziland and a son who was born in Zululand.

Mbilini was a pretender to the Swazi throne after the death of King Mswati II. His brother Mbandzeni was the recognised king after the death of their half brother crown prince Ludvonga. As a result of this, Mbilini was exiled to the south, outside the border of Swaziland, in Zululand. Mbilini was an accomplished military commander and he waged raid on the communities near the southern border of Swaziland. Most notably, he defeated the British army in the battle of Intombe, during the Anglo-Zulu War.

Prince Mbilini took refuge in the Transvaal, but the Transvaal Boers were wary of being caught up in a Swazi succession dispute and in 1867 he moved south to Zululand. As a result of this, Prince Mbilini was exiled to the south, outside the border of Swaziland, in Zululand. Here he was given refuge by Prince Cetshwayo who had secured his own claim to the Zulu succession in 1856 and was building up allies and supporters against the influence of his ageing father, King Mpande.

Anglo-Zulu war

In 1877. he made his settlement on the Hlobane mountain, a natural fortress out of the reach of his enemies. From there, he attacked the advancing British troops at Zungvini Mountain in January of 1879, and defeated them in March at Intombe and Hlobane. He was killed in a skirmish with British troops on April 5th, 1879.

References

• Knight, Ian (2003). The Zulu War 1879. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84176-612-6.
• Colenso, Frances E.; Durnford, Edward (1880). History of the Zulu war and its origin;. London, Chapman and Hall.
• Morris, Donald R. (1988). The Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation Under Shaka and Its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780747401940.
• Laband, John (2009). Historical dictionary of the Zulu wars. Historical dictionaries of war, revolution, and civil unrest. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6078-0. OCLC 276930370.