The Life and Times of Dingane King of the Zulu

This fine biography is the first detailed study of Dingane, King of the Zulu, the most controversial and least understood of all South African tribal kings. Dingane, the Needy One, rose to fame in 1828 after assassinating Shaka Zulu and usurping the Zulu throne, and in this exiting and often horrifying life-story, the author presents an objective and accurate assessment of Dingan’s true character, and of the motives which gave rise to the treacheries and brutalities that have made his name notorious. Dingane’s career was one of incessant bloodshed. Like many tyrants, he ruled by fear as a result of fear, and in this book, Peter Becker, traces the extraordinary circumstances responsible for the nagging suspicions which plagued the King throughout his ill-fated and turbulent life. Tormented by visions of enemies plotting his overthrow, Dingane resorted to the extermination of Zulu dignitaries, vassal clans, relatives, life-long friends and eventually to the murder of Boers and Englishmen, His culminating treachery in the slaughter of a large party of white men under the Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief, caused consternation throughout the world and led to his final downfall.

Few subjects of African history have been more fervently debated than Dingane’s rule of fear and his elusive and complex character. The author’s unique knowledge of Bantu tribes and languages, and his extensive researches, have resulted in a highly readable and dramatic narrative that is, at the same time, an authoritative and valuable contribution to history.