The Ncaphayi Incident

Another storm centered around Chief Ncaphayi, a neighbour of Faku who was accused of rustling some Boer cattle. Pretorius set off on another punitive expedition, collected the cattle (and more) and was accused of killing forty tribesmen.

In the inevitable outcry from the local missionaries (all of whom had the reputation of hating the Boers), Whitehall became interested, as both Faku and Ncaphayi were considered to be living under its protection.

Napier, Governor of the Cape sent a small force to Pondoland where it stayed for a year while deliberations continued in London whether to annex Natal. Eventually the decision was taken - not only because of the issue at hand but also because it would deny a potential enemy a seaport on the sea lanes to India and there had been reports of large coal deposits in the interior of Natal.

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