Makgoba Kingdom

Makgoba Kingdom, located in the picturesque area of Magoebaskloof, takes its name from King Mamphoku Makgoba, the king of the small Tlou tribe who rebelled against the government in 1894. Literally, Magoebaskloof means “Makgoba’s Valley.”

The Makgoba people originated in what is now Zimbabwe. It is said that they are the descendants of the Karanga under kgoshi “Ramabulana” they crossed the Limpopo and came to early Settlement at Mogatiša with the leadership of Lesetja Mokgoba and his father Kalauba Mokgoba

Lefetja Mogatiša had the following children and from the first wife – Mafunyane are as follows:

Maphoku Makgoba, Mokgona Makgoba, Gelepi Makgoba

From his second wife he had children as follows:

Molepo Makgoba Molepo, Komeledi Molepo Makgoba, Mathabatha Molepo Makgoba, Molema Molepo Makgoba, Malahlela Molepo Makgoba

Early Settlement By Whites

During the nineteenth century, the area of the Lowveld and Spelonken inhibited by Machangana, Bavhenda and Basotho

But in 1886, the then Zuid Afrikaanse Republic recognised that there were no whites in that part of the country. They realised that whites should be settled there if they wanted to have a firm grip on the Soutpansberg area. At that time, the blacks who lived in that area were very active in protecting the land and keeping the whites out. The government offered incentives to those willing to settle in these areas: farms were marked off, and those willing to stay there were given free land. This aroused their interest, and they began to settle.