Chief Langalibalele was known as ‘Long Belly’ by Sir Garnet Wolesley, who could ‘never spell his infernal barbarian cognomen’. Langalibalele’s rebellion caused a crisis in Natal. It was described as ‘the most wonderful case of blunders for men past infancy to have made’ and strengthened Carnarvon’s case for confederation.
The 1870s also saw the destruction of the Hlubi chiefdom in Natal. Langalibalele, a hereditary chief of the Hlubi, living near modern Estcourt in the Drakensberg foothills, was summonsed to Pietermaritzburg for failure to register his firearms. He refused and a force was sent against him. Langalibalele fled the colony, but three of the colonial troops were killed in a skirmish on the Bushman’s River Pass.
The Hlubi were deemed to be in rebellion. The chief was subsequently captured and sent to Pietermaritzburg, where he was subjected to a trial by a kangaroo court filled with substantive and procedural irregularities. The punishment meted out to the Hlubi by Lieutenant-Governor Sir Benjamin Pine far exceeded his powers. It included the breaking up of their location and confiscation of their cattle, and Langalibalele’s imprisonment on Robben Island.
The handling of the Langalibalele affair in 1873–1874 indicated to the British authorities that Natal could not be trusted to deal with its own affairs. Such irresponsibility convinced the Imperial authorities that Natal was not ready for responsible government, and should be brought under the umbrella of South African confederation.
