Mgolombane Sandile

Who was Mgolombane Sandile?

Mgolombane Sandile was a Chief of the Ngqika and Paramount-Chief of the Rharhabe tribe - a sub-group of the Xhosa nation. A dynamic and charismatic chief, he led the Xhosa armies in several of the Cape-Xhosa Frontier Wars.

Having recently been equipped with modern fire-arms, Sandile's forces successfully inflicted losses on their enemies that led to Sandile gaining a reputation as a Xhosa hero. He was captured during the War of the Axe in 1847, but on his release he was granted land in "British Kaffraria" for his people.

He later supported Sarhili, Paramount-Chief of the Gcaleka, in a war against the Cape Colony and the Fingo tribe, and he was killed in 1878 in a shootout with Fingo soldiers.