Morosi

Morosi (or Moorosi) (died 1879) was a Baphuthi chief in the wild southern part of Basutoland. He led a revolt against the Cape Colony government in 1879, in defence of his independence south of the Orange River. The British refused to help the Cape Government. However, Letsie, the paramount chief and first son of Moshoeshoe, and many of the Sotho ruling establishment, rallied to support the Cape forces, and the rebellion was put down after several months arduous fighting. He was beheaded and his body mutilated by Cape troops.

Early life
Morosi was the son of Mokuane, a Baphuthi man, and a San woman. According to Major David Hook, who met him, he was small and had yellow skin, which is suggestive of San ancestry.

Morosi's Mountain 1879 Campaign
In recognition of Morosi's military assistance and successes, most recently in the war with the Orange Free State, Moshoeshoe granted him lands in the southwestern corner of Basutoland. Here, in 1879, Morosi's son Doda and some other Baphuthi tribesmen were refusing to pay the hut taxes which had been agreed upon between the chiefs and the Cape Government on the annexation of Basutoland to the Cape Colony in 1868. Austen, the Resident Magistrate, imprisoned the offenders but a force of Baphuthis set them free. A troop of Cape Mounted Riflemen (CMR) responded but were repulsed by Morosi, who refused to give up his son. Morosi and the approximately 1,500 Baphuthi men, along with their women and children took refuge on a mountain, where he requested a week to respond to the Cape Government's offer of safe return if he gave up the offenders.

During that week, Morosi gradually and stealthily moved his entire tribe to another mountain 20 miles away in the Drakensberg range, which came to be known as Morosi's Mountain. During the previous ten years, Morosi had worked on building a mountain top fortification. The mountain is has sheer drops on three sides and the fourth consists of a 30° slope, which he reinforced with a series of strong walls, 8–12 feet high, impervious to artillery, with loopholes for guns. There Morosi took refuge with sufficient ammunition, food and cattle to resist a long siege, beginning 24 March, until he was finally overrun on 20 November.

Three troops of the CMR, consisting of about 250 men, were deployed to cut off Morosi but were ineffective. A first assault took place on 8 April but was repulsed. Two men in that assault received the Victoria Cross: Sergent Robert Scott and Trooper Peter Brown. A second assault took place on 5 June, involving the recently formed Cape Mounted Yeomanry. This assault was also unsuccessful and Surgeon Major Edmund Hartley was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part.

The final assault on Morosi's stronghold took place on the night of 19–20 November 1879. Under the command of Colonel Zachary Bayly, 350 men of the CMR had encamped in October opposite the sloping western side of Morosi's Mountain. A mortar and ammunition was sent up from King William's Town and fixed about 400 metres from the first wall behind a rapidly-built, stone bastion. Mortar was fired over the walls of Morosi's fortifications for four days and nights prior to the attack. At 12.30am an attempt was made on the mountain by scaling up a fissure, which became known as Bourne's Crack. The storming party reached the top before Morosi's men could regroup against the assault. On reaching the top, the CMR cut down the enemy then set out to find Morosi. Several small parties of Baphuthi were hiding in caves, within one of which was Morosi.

A private of the CMR named Whitehead shot and killed Morosi. After his death, Morosi was decapitated, his head then boiled and stripped down to the bone. In the storming of his stronghold, Morosi's sons were also killed, with the exception of Doda, who escaped with around 120 men by jumping into the Orange River. Morosi's wives were also killed, as were some 200 of his men.