Forgetten Nation III- Langalibalele I
Langalibalele proved to have more political acumen than his older brother and had a good sense of Geopolitics. He was also gifted in Herbal Medicine and rainmaking like his Grandfather and Father before him.
Similar to Langilabelele, Mpande kaSenzangakhona rose to the throne when Dingane passed on, but shared similar hostilities that his brother had towards Amahlubi. King Mpande summoned Langalibalele to his royal court, but learning from his brother's mistakes did not heed the summon, which lead to Zulu soldiers attacking the Hlubi. The attack was unsuccessful as the Hlubi defeated this regiment. Ever the Geopolitician, Langalibalele chose to move his capital and people near British territory to avoid the wrath of Mpande, because they may have won the battle, but they knew they could not win a full-on war against the Zulu. The British Natal Government agreed as they felt the Hlubi would make a perfect buffer between British Natal and Zululand.
LANGALIBALELE'S REBELLION
The Hlubi settled in what is now known as Estcourt, life was prosperous under Langalibalele, even though they had decreased in population as a result of being dispersed through South Africa. Agriculture was prosperous. The discovery of diamonds in Kimberly led to many Hlubi young men going to work in the mines as they were sourced for cheap labour and some were paid in guns. This became a problem long term as when they returned with the guns back to Natal, the Natal Government felt the Hlubi were being armed and strengthened Militarily, This led to the local magistrate of Estcourt, John Macfarlane to order the hand in of all firearms held by Amahlubi to be handed in for Registration, with Langalibalele refusing due to not knowing who possessed the firearms. These events led to what was known as Langalibalele's rebellion.
Langalibalele was summoned to appear before Sir Theophilius Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs but Langalibalele refused on the grounds of poor health, his arrest was promptly issued and Langalibelele retreated to Lesotho with 5 of his sons to Basotho ally Chief Molapo via Bushmans River Pass (now known as Langalibalele Pass).
After the search party was assembled and martial law was declared, Langalibalele was found and had been already handed over to British local authorities by Molapo in Lesotho.
King Langalibalele I was arrested by his pursers and taken back to Natal where he was trialled in a kangaroo court as he had no legal representation for 3 days, his reps couldn't interview him or cross-examine, and the odds were all stacked against him resulting in a life sentence in Robben Island. Langalibalele didn't serve his entire sentence on Robben Island as he was relocated to a farm near Pinelands where he was under arrest. A community not too far from there was named Langa after him. Langalibalele died still being under house arrest in Pietermartizburg, with his kingdom decimated and dispersed.
PRESENT-DAY
Present-day the Hlubi are recognised as several independent Chiefdoms in South Africa with The House of Langalibalele still residing in Estcourt under Muswenkosi Johannes Hadede "Inkosi Langalibalele II".The restoration of the Amahlubi Monarchy has been long and slow. with some strides and recognition, like The British government returning Regal garments and other royal items belonging to King Langalibalele I that were taken after his capture. Two Statues were erected in his honour. The Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality was named after him. Nelson Mandela visited his grave after his own release from Robben Island.
A commission established in 2005 was established to rectify Traditional Leadership issues caused by colonialism and apartheid, The Nhlapo Commission found that the Hlubi "had no Kingship as it was dismantled before colonialism" and that they dispersed all over the country, under different kingdoms, and had different customs and languages. The Hlubi have taken this matter to court and hopefully like AmaRharhabe and AmaMpondomise, whose Kingship was either revoked or not recognized by the Nhlapo Commission, but became overturned and recognised by the courts, the Hlubi's cause will be heard.
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