- Mpezeni (also spelt Mpeseni) was born in 1830 was warrior-king.
- He was warrior-king of one of the largest Ngoni groups of central Africa.
- Mpezeni was based in what is now the Chipata District of Zambia, at a time when the British South Africa Company (BSAC) of Cecil Rhodes was trying to take possession of the territory for the British Empire.
- Mpezeni was courted by the Portuguese and the BSAC sent agents to obtain a treaty — Alfred Sharpe in 1889.
- In 1897 with over 4000 warriors Mpezeni rose up against the British who were taking control of Nyasaland.
- He also rose against the British over North-Eastern Rhodesia, and was defeated.
- Mpezeni had many wives and more children.
- He signed the treaty which allowed him to rule as Paramount Chief of the Ngoni in Zambia’s Eastern Province and Malawi’s Mchinji district.
- Mpezeni passed away in 1900.
- His successors as chief take the title Paramount Chief Mpezeni to this day.
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Mpezeni
1843
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