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eventREF E-0010990Revised

25 October 1854

Makapane’s Cave is under siege

Makapane’s Cave is under siege

Updated
30 Sep 2019
Makapane’s Cave is under siege

The nearly month-long siege of Makapane's Cave took place after warriors of the Ndebele chief Makapan (Makapane) massacred 23 Voortrekkers, men, women, and children, who were on a hunting expedition under Hermanus Potgieter at Moorddrift in northern Transvaal (now Limpopo). The punitive burger commando was led by Commandant-General Piet Potgieter and M.W. Pretorius. The body of Piet Potgieter, who lost his life in the early stages of the siege, was retrieved by Paul Kruger, later president of the ZAR, at the risk of his life. During the siege, the Ndebele tribe was wiped out by hunger, thirst and bullets. Paul Kruger slipped into the cave under cover of darkness and urged them to leave the cave, assuring them that only Makapan was sought, but to no avail.

How we know this

  1. 01Kruger, S.J.P. (1902). The Memoirs of Paul Kruger: Four Times President of the South Africa-Republic, told by himself, ed. by Schowalter, London: Unwin.
  2. 02Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970).Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 7, p. 124.
  3. 03Wallis, F. (2000).Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.
  4. 04Davie, L. 2004.
  5. 05Davie L.(2004),Blown away by Mapungubwe23 September, [online], Available at Limpopo Game Reserves,[online], Available atwww.sa-venues.com[Accessed; 24 October 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Makapane’s Cave is under siege. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010990

South African History Online (2011) 'Makapane’s Cave is under siege', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010990 (Accessed: 5 November 2026).

South African History Online, Makapane’s Cave is under siege [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010990, (accessed 5 November 2026).

"Makapane’s Cave is under siege." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010990. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

South African History Online. "Makapane’s Cave is under siege." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010990.

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