THEY SAID THE SOUTH AFRICAN KING TRIED TO ESCAPE…

THEY SAID THE SOUTH AFRICAN KING TRIED TO ESCAPE…

But what really happened to King Hintsa kaKhawuta of South Africa?

On 12 May 1835, the Xhosa king was killed near the Nqabarha River in the Eastern Cape during the Sixth Frontier War.

The official British account said Hintsa was trying to escape.

British soldiers pursued him.

Then he was shot.

But the story did not end with his death.

Historical accounts and Xhosa oral traditions state that parts of King Hintsa’s remains were removed, including his ears and head, and were reportedly taken as trophies.

And this is where the story becomes even more disturbing.

Did he really try to escape?

Was he hunted down?

Was he deliberately killed?

And after his death…

What happened to his head?

Many of you know the story of King Badu Bonsu II of Ghana, whose head was returned to Ghana in 2009 after more than 170 years.

But King Hintsa’s story is different.

He died in 1835.

Nearly 191 years later, his head has still not been found.

His kingdom was in the Eastern Cape.

His people remembered him.

His descendants remembered him.

And the questions surrounding his death have survived for generations.

This is not simply a story about a king who was killed.

It is a story about power, land, war, colonialism, dignity and memory.

And it raises a question that still deserves an answer:

What happened to King Hintsa’s head?

We are bringing this forgotten story back.

Because some stories were never supposed to disappear.

This is Long Walk Tales.

Forgotten Stories. Untold Legacies. Echoes of Memory.

👇 Have you ever heard the story of King Hintsa before today?

Share this story. Someone from South Africa, Ghana, or elsewhere in Africa may be seeing his name for the first time.