10 December 1894: Under the Charlestown Convention, Britain and the Transvaal Republic signed the Third Swaziland Convention in which the British gave the Transvaal government rights to administer Swaziland on behalf of Britain. The agreement allowed the Transvaal to set up a protectorate over Swaziland. Swaziland authorities refused to accept the convention, reached as it were, without their participation or consent.
The Charleston Convention also gave the Transvaal power to introduce taxes in Swaziland in 5 years – with effect from January 1898.
These taxes were extremely heavy and introduced during the third year of the reign of Ngwenyama Bhunu. They created a lot of tension within the royal family especially between the Ngwenyama and the Queen Mother’s court. The reason for introducing taxation was to force Swazis to go and work as labourers in the mines and the farms. Swazis at the time were unfamiliar with the concept of work for pay and evaded efforts to recruit them. The Transvaal then assigned Johannes Krogh, their special commissioner in Swaziland special instruction to find ways of forcing more Swazis to be sent to work in the mines in South Africa.
During the period tension, a senior prince, Mvulane, a son of King Mswati ll fell sick and died. A witch-hunt smelt out Mbhabha Nsibandze, who as indvuna Yesive was in the thick of the tensions that were being instigated by the Transvaal, especially through Theophilus Shepstone Jnr who had been dismissed as special advisor to Ngwenyama Mbhandzeni but retained by the Transvaal. Mbhabha was subsequently killed. takes full advantage.
Among the options he had explored was to have the Ngwenyama Bhunu removed. Bhunu fled to Ngwavuma district to meet with the British commissioner there.
Fortunately the British disapproved as nothing in the 1994 Convention gave the Transvaal authority to try a Swazi king for murder. As a result, Bhunu returned to Swaziland and an inquiry into his involvement of the killing was held. He was subsequently cautioned and fined.
