Their most famous issue was Mzilikazi and Mbulazi, an influential figure in the mfecane, and founder of the Northern Ndebele nation of Zimbabwe (mthwakazi) Until the rise of Zwide and the Ndwandwes, life was a simple affair and the Khumalos located at Mkhuze had the best that the land which would become Zululand had to offer: plenty of water, fertile soil and grazing ground.
But the Khumalos in the early nineteenth century would have to lose their neutrality and choose a side, and this they postponed for as long as they could.
After a few battles, Shaka gave Mzilikazi the extraordinary honour of being chief of the Khumalos and to remain semi-independent from the Zulu, if Zwide could be defeated.
This peace lasted until Shaka asked Mzilikazi to test a tribe to the north of the Khumalo, belonging to one Raninsi a Sotho.
From there the Khumalos would be scattered across southern Africa, some becoming the Sotho, and some joining other groups such as the Tswana, but the vast majority remained Zulu and Mthwakazi.