
Where is the King’s Head?
Magoebaskloof gets its name from King Mamphoku Makgoba, the king of the small Tlou tribe that rebelled against the government in 1894. Literally it means ‘Makgoba’s Valley’.
History is not clear on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of King Makgoba.
One view is that told by the Swazi Impis hired by the government to flush King Makgoba out of the mountains, after he disappeared into the foothills with some of his followers. King Makgoba had refused to pay taxes, and was fleeing government soldiers sent to investigate. The Swazi’s maintain they captured two of Makgoba’s subjects (two women), killing one, and extracting a confession out of the other, which lead them to the King’s location. Upon finding the King, the leader of the Swazis fought the King in hand-to-hand combat, defeating him. The Swazi’s then decapitated him, taking his head to the government to claim the bounty.
Makgoba’s followers say the King committed suicide rather than risk capture, yet his descendants are still searching for his head.
The King’s leadership has come under increasing threat in recent years – from opponents and opportunists plundering the wealth he had been tasked to manage.
The Makgoba kingdom is situated in Limpopo, named as South Africa’s most corrupt province. It is the King’s belief that until his ancestor’s head is found and laid to rest, chaos will continue to reign over the province of Limpopo. This stems from the traditional belief that until the body is buried as a whole, the deceased’s soul cannot find peace.
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