Zululand had been broken up into thirteen smaller territories by the British government after the Anglo-Zulu War, and Cetshwayo, and subsequently Dinuzulu, administered one of them.

He then offered rewards of land to Boer farmers of the Vryheid and Utrecht districts, to come and fight on his side and restore the Zulu Kingdom.

In 1884 a group of Boer farmers from the districts of Utrecht and Vryheid undertook to help restore order, in return for land for the formation of an independent republic with access to the sea.

The Nieuwe Republiek, established in northern Natal on land awarded to Boers by Dinuzulu, was recognized by Germany and Portugal.

It was later incorporated on its request by the ZAR because of financial problems, after the British annexed the coastal plains from the Thukela river (Tugela) northwards in order to prevent the Boers from building a harbor.

After a state funeral, he was buried at Nobamba in the Khosini Valley (31°16'E; 28°26'S),[2] which lies in the upper White Umfolozi drainage system.