By Thomas Sibanda – Mzala Tom
Sometime around 1829, two traders Robert Schoon and William McLuckie visited King Mzilikazi at his Apies River kraal.
This kraal was located in present-day Pretoria in South Africa. This may have been King Mzilikazi’s first time to interact with the Europeans.
Excited by the European visitors and the prospects of a new world and opportunities, King Mzilikazi asked his chief diplomat Mncumbatha Khumalo to visit the white mission station accompanied by Robert Schoon and William McLuckie.
Mncumbatha Khumalo and his delegation were taken to Robert Moffat’s mission station called Kuruman in the present-day Northern Cape province in South Africa. Robert Moffat was a Scottish Christian missionary who worked among the Tswana people from around 1821 to 1870. Kuruman was named after a local Tswana chief known as Khudumane.
The discussions between Mncumbatha Khumalo and Robert Moffat were fruitful and cordial. The Ndebele were interested in firearms whilst Robert Moffat was seeing an opportunity to preach the gospel amongst the Ndebele people.
As a result of the fruitful discussions, in 1830 Robert Moffat decided to visit King Mzilikazi at his eNkungwini military stronghold. He went with Mncumbatha Khumalo and his delegation on their return. On their way to ENkungwini, Moffat was well received by the Ndebele at different outposts. They gave him milk, corn, wheat, and meat in large quantities.
As they traversed close to eNkungwini, Robert Moffat and his delegation met another white missionary Reverend James Archbell who was also visiting the area to set up a missionary station. Archbell then joined Moffat on his journey to eNkungwini to meet the Ndebele king. ENkungwini was located on the right banks of the Apies River, where the modern Tshwane suburb of Roseville is today.
Robert Moffat was well received by King Mzilikazi and the Ndebele. In the years to come, he became a very close friend of King Mzilikazi. King Mzilikazi admired Moffat so much that he honoured him with the name of his father, Mashobane, and called Moffat the King of Kuruman.
King Mzilikazi also renamed his heir Nkulumane, a Ngunilisation of Kuruman and Khudumane. As part of his agreements with Robert Moffat, King Mzilikazi ordered that all traders and hunters who wanted to enter his country had to go through Robert Moffat’s mission at Kuruman and use the road that connected his territory and Kuruman.
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