Sekhukhune


Sekhukhune was the Paramount King of the Maroteng or Pedi people in Sekhukhuneland, in the present-day Limpopo province, South Africa.
He became king upon the death of his father, King Sekwati, in September 1861. Sekhukhune married Legoadi IV in 1862, and lived at a mountain, now known as Thaba Ya Leolo, which he fortified. As the Pedi paramount leader he was faced with political challenges from the Boers, the independent South African Republic and the British Empire, with considerable social change caused by Christian missionaries.
He fought two wars. The first war was successfully fought in 1876, against the ZAR and their Swazi allies. The second war, against the British and Swazi in 1879 in what became known as the Sekukuni Wars, was less successful.
Sekukuni was detained in Pretoria until 1881. After a return to his kingdom, he was fatally stabbed by an assassin in 1882. The assassins are presumed to have been sent by his brother and competitor, Mampuru II.

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