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History of Bulawayo


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The city was founded by the Ndebele king, Lobengula the son of King Mzilikazi kaMatshobana who settled in modern day Zimbabwe around 1840s after the Ndebele people's great trek from Zululand. The name Bulawayo comes from the SiNdebele word KoBulawayo meaning 'a place where he is being killed.' It is thought that at the time of the formation of the city, there was a civil war and a group of Ndebeles not aligned to Prince Lobengula were fighting him as they felt he was not the heir to the throne, hence he gave his capital the name 'where he (the prince) is being killed'. It is said that when King Lobengula named the place "KoBulawayo" his generals asked "who is being killed mtanenkosi (prince)?" and he replied "Yimi umntwanenkosi engibulawayo", meaning "its me the prince who is being killed". At the time Lobengula was just a prince fighting to ascend his father's (Mzilikazi) throne. It was common at the time for people to refer to Bulawayo as "KoBulawayo UmntwaneNkosi" "a place where they are fighting or rising against the prince". The name Bulawayo is imported from Nguniland which is a place once occupied by the Khumalo people. The place still exists and it is next to Richards Bay.

In the 1860s the city was further settled by European inhabitance from Britain when Bulawayo became the centre of imperialist intrigue and many colonial powers cast covetous eyes on Bulawayo and the land surrounding it. Britain made skillful use of private initiative in the shape of Cecil Rhodes and the Chartered Company in order to disarm the suspicion of her rivals. Lobengula once described Britain as a chameleon and himself as the fly.

During the 1893 Matabele War the invasion by British South Africa Company troops led the then king, Lobengula to flee from his burning capital and head north, BSAC troops and white settlers occupied the town. On 4 November 1893, Leander Starr Jameson declared Bulawayo a settlement under the rule of the British South Africa Company and Cecil
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