Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Sekhukhune
c. 1814 – 1882
Beat both the Boers and the British, and kept the Pedi kingdom independent for twenty years
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the South Africa Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
King of the Marota from the 1860s, he built an army that inflicted defeat after defeat on Voortrekker and British forces alike, and held Pedi independence against both.
Sekhukhune was king of the Marota, commonly called the Bapedi, succeeding Sekwati in the 1860s.
He strengthened the kingdom and built an army that inflicted repeated defeats on Voortrekker and British forces, defending Pedi independence against sustained colonial pressure from two directions at once for the better part of two decades.
He strengthened the kingdom and built an army that inflicted repeated defeats on Voortrekker and British forces, defending Pedi independence against sustained colonial pressure from two directions at once for the better part of two decades.
- Wikipedia — Sekhukhune
- South African History Online — King Sekhukhune
- News24 — Our Story No 6: Sekhukhune, the great Pedi king
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