King Mzilikazi kaMashobane Khumalo, founder of the Ndebele people and founder of the Matabele Kingdom. His name meaning “the Great Road”.
In his autobiography, the famous David Livingstone, one of the most popular British heroes of the late-19th-century Victorian era, in his autobiography, referred to Mzilikazi as one of the most impressive leaders he ever encountered on the African continent – second only to that of King Shaka. Mzilikazi was originally a general under Shaka, however, he left in 1823 with his people, known as the Khumalo to form his own kingdom.
After travelling to Mozambique, he decided to make his way westwards, eventually settling in what became known as Matabele land in 1840. He organised his people into a military system with regimental kraals, much like Shaka, which was able to repel the Boers 1847 and 1851, with the Transvaal Republic signing a peace treaty in 1852.
Mzilikazi’s son, Inkos’uLobengula Khumalo (1845–1894), would be the second and last king of the Matebele (Northern Ndebele) people. Today Mzilikazi is still remembered today by the praise name Umdabuli we Sizwe, the ‘Maker of the Nation’