[1] His father was the previous Zulu king Mpande, which made him a half-nephew of the famous and legendary Shaka and younger half-brother of the ruler Cetshwayo.

[7][8] Dabulamanzi's tactics were ineffective, allowing the small British force at Rorke's Drift to repel the Zulus.

[10] When Lord Chelmsford arrived with a relief force, Dabulamanzi led the right wing of the Zulu army at the Battle of Gingindlovu; the Zulus were defeated.

Dabulamanzi led the fight against Cetshwayo's principal enemy Zibhebhu kaMaphitha, who was supported by Boer mercenaries.

After Cetshwayo's death he supported the king's son Dinuzulu, negotiating an alliance with Boer mercenaries in 1884.