Bhambatha

Bambata, or Bhambatha kaMancinza (c. 1865–1906?), also known as Mbata Bhambatha, was a Zulu chief of the amaZondi clan in the Colony of Natal and son of Mancinza. He is famous for his role in an armed rebellion in 1906 when the poll tax was raised from a tax per hut to per head (£1 tax on all native men older than 18 – infamously called ukhandampondo), increasing hardship during a severe economic depression. Bhambatha claims that he was told to lead an armed rebellion by the de facto Zulu King Dinizulu. Dinizulu disputed this account and no convincing evidence for either story is available.

==Early years== It is unclear what year Bhambatha was born due to no written records or birth certificates, but it is estimated that Bhambatha was born in 1865, in Mpanza, near the town of Greytown, Natal Colony. He was the son of Chief Macinza, sometimes called Macinga, of the abakwa Zondi chieftaincy; and his mother, principle wife of Mancinza, was the daughter of Chief Phakade, chief of an important Zulu chieftaincy, the Chunu. Bhambatha is also famous for being one of the 10,000 Zulu warriors to guard Shaka Zulu's mother's grave for a year. He is said to have been a Zulu warrior under the strict Shaka Zulu Impi training and discipline.