Transcribed from South Africa Magazine, 5 December 1908

THE TRIAL OF DINUZULU

ONE OF THE CHIEF’S WIVES GIVES EVIDENCE AGAINST HIM

ALLEGED CONSPIRACY TO MURDER

In the course of Tuesday’s proceedings at Greytown, Mahihi, one of Dinuzulu’s wives, gave an account of conversations she had heard in which Dinuzulu was alleged to have incited to the murder of Sir Charles Saunders and the late Mr. Stainbank. Wednesday (says Reuter) was devoted to the cross-examination of the witness Mahihi. Mr. Schreiner, counsel for the accused, endeavoured to show that the witness gave birth to a child about the time when she alleged that she heard a conversation between Dinuzulu and other natives regarding a plot to murder Sir Charles Saunders, the native Commissioner, and also one of the Magistrates. The witness maintained the truth of her statements, and proceeded to say that the Zulu warriors at Usutu were regularly drilled from the time of Dinuzulu’s return from St. Helena. Scouts arrived at Usutu daily while the rebellion was in progress, and continued to arrive until the defeat of the rebels at Nkhandla. A side-light showing the extent to which superstition is rife in Zululand (adds the correspondent) was furnished by Mahihi’s description of how she was ill-treated at Usutu for having bewitched Dinuzulu. Her finger was burnt off, and she was severely maltreated by two women. Replying to the Bench, Mahihi said that Dinuzulu was continually drinking whisky. It was after one of these drinking bouts that the conversation occurred regarding the alleged plan to shoot Sir Charles Saunders and the Magistrate. Mahihi declared that, although she had been badly treated, she did not bear Dinuzulu the slightest ill-will.

DINUZULU AND THE REBELLION

Cabling from Cape Town on Wednesday the Times special correspondent said: I have just received a special report of the first week’s proceedings in the Dinuzulu trial, during which, besides the Attorney-General’s opening statement, evidence was called from Sir Duncan McKenzie, several officials, and Bambata’s widow, daughter, and son. The Attorney-General proposed to prove that Dinuzulu connived at Bambata’s rebellion in 1906, that when seen by Governor McCallum in 1907 he denied all knowledge of the rebels though he was harbouring Bambata’s wife and others at the time, and that he continued harbouring and honouring rebels thereafter. The chief point brought out from the evidence of the official witnesses was that the proximity of the war huts to Cetywayo’s sacred grave during the rebellion implied Dinuzulu’s express sanction, for otherwise the rebels would not have dared to approach it. They also testified that the arms at present in the Usutu kraal were not to be accounted for by the supposition that the Zulus obtained them during the Boer war. The most important evidence was that of Siyekive, Bambata’s widow, who stated that she and Bambata went to Dinuzulu from Natal before the rebellion and heard Mankulumana, Dinuzulu’s chief officer, order Bambata to start an impi with Cakijana and others, and that he presented him with a gun. Bambata revisited the kraal a month later to ask Dinuzulu why he delayed to come. Subsequently Dinuzulu showed knowledge of the rebellion, and told Siyekive when he returned from Maritzburg, that he had been questioned about her and denied all knowledge of her, though he was harbouring her. She also testified that men were drilling in the Usutu kraal. Her daughter gave corroborative testimony. The evidence of neither of them was shaken by cross-examination.

THE CHARGES AGAINST DINUZULU

A Parliamentary White Paper containing “further correspondence relating to the trial of certain natives in Natal” was issued this week, the documents dealing with the preliminaries of the present trial at Greytown and covering the period from September 15 to October 30 of the current year. All the despatches are from Sir Matthew Nathan, Governor of Natal, to the Earl of Crewe. On September 15 the Governor transmitted a transcript of Act No. 8, 1908, “to make special provision for the trial of natives accused of certain crimes,” together with a statement of the objects and reasons of the Act by the Minister concerned. On October 2 the Governor reported as to the health of Dinuzulu, the contribution by the Natal Government of £500 towards the expenses of his trial, the constitution of the Special Court, and the date of the commencement of the trial. On October 24 he again reported on the health of Dinuzulu, and also furnished particulars as to the appointment of three Special Court Commissioners. The closing dispatch, that of October 30, enclosed with remarks copies of the indictments against Cakijana, Mjombolwana, and Dinuzulu. In this last dispatch Sir Matthew Nathan states that the indictment of Dinuzulu, signed on October 26, charges him with the crime of high treason, and contains twenty-three counts. “The present indictment,” says Sir Matthew, “contains no references to the charges of (a) murder, (b) being accessory to the crime of murder, (c) conspiracy to murder, and (d) inciting to murder, entered in the warrants reported to your Lordship in my telegram, No. 1, of February 7 last, nor to the specific charges of murder of Gence, conspiracy to murder Gence, and inciting to murder Gence and Mapoyisa, entered on the warrant of commitment, and reported to your Lordship in my telegram, No. 3, of July 31, and dispatch of the following day.”

SIR J. L. HULLETT’S VIEWS

Sir James Liege Hulett, who was the Natal Secretary for Native Affairs at the time of Dinuzulu’s return to Zululand after his term of exile in St. Helena, addressed a meeting of the Labour party at Durban last Saturday night on the question of native policy. He declared (reports Reuter) that it was almost impossible that Dinuzulu could abide by the conditions imposed upon him when he returned to Zululand. He was still the son of his father, and the bulk of the natives attributed the concessions made, not to generosity, but to fear.

The following appointments were made to the staff of the Special Court now sitting at Greytown: Mr. A. H. Borgnis (Natal Police), Sheriff; Mr. W. Way, chief shorthand writer; Messrs. H. S. Woods, J. M. Robertson, and A. R. Hendry, shorthand writers; and Mr. L. St. J. Oxley Oxland, Zulu interpreter.

NATAL LAND SETTLEMENT

Mr. W. A. Deane, Natal Minister of Agriculture, accompanied by Mr. E. R. Sawyer, Director of Agriculture, recently paid a visit to Weenen. Mr. Deane told the settlers that he had been considering the tenure upon which they held their land—the ten years’ deferred payment system—and had decided that it was best to place them on a footing with the rest of the Colony, and give them 20 years in which to pay off their instalments. He mentioned that there were fully 500 men wanting to take up land in the Colony—men with means, who were prepared to cultivate the soil, and get all there was to be got out of it. He mentioned in this connection that he had been to Ladysmith to inspect a farm which the Government had acquired; and that the farm, which had been purchased from Mr. Walter Pepworth, was now being cut up or surveyed into small holdings, and these would shortly be gazetted for sale.

Mr. Jurie Smith, of Bulkraal, Graaff Reinet, who is 72 years of age, was recently married to a girl aged 15 ½ years.

Handsome new school buildings of the public school type have been formally opened at Middelburg, Cape Colony, by Dr. Muir (Cape Superintendent-General of Education).

Major J. Abraham, Northern District Mounted Rifles, Natal, and Lieutenant F. J. Ing, “B” Battery, Natal Field Artillery, have been transferred to the supernumerary lists of those corps.

Regards,

Ellen Stanton

Email: harprulz@bellsouth.net