Editing South African Republic (section)

===Sekhukune War, 1876===
In 1876, a war between the ZAR and the [[Bapedi]] broke out over cattle theft and land encroachment.<ref name=SekhWar1>{{cite journal|last = Kinsey|first = H.W.|title = The Sekukuni wars|url = http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol025hk.html|website = Military History Journal|volume = 2|issue = 5|date = June 1973|publisher = The South African Military History Society|access-date = 2014-09-28}}</ref> The {{lang|af|Volksraad}} declared war on the Pedi leader, [[Sekukuni|Sekhukune]], on 16 May 1876. The war only began in July 1876. The president of the ZAR, Burgers led an army of 2000 burghers and was joined by a strong force of [[Swazi people|Swazi]] warriors. The Swazis joined the war to aid Mampuru, who was ousted from his position of chieftain by Sekhukune.<ref name=SekhWar1 />

One of the early battles occurred at [[Botshabelo, Mpumalanga|Botsabelo Mission Station]] on 13 July 1876, against Johannes Dinkwanyane, who was Sekhukune's brother. The Boer forces were led by Commandant Coetzee and accompanied by Swazi warriors. The Swazi warriors launched a surprise and successful attack while the Boers held back.<ref name=SekhWar1 /> Seeing this, the Swazis refused to hand over to the Boers any spoils from the battle, thereafter leaving and returning to [[Swaziland]]. Dinkwanyane's followers also surrendered after this campaign.<ref name=SekhWar1 />