The duplicity of Lippert and his associates is reflected in their notorious April 1891 “Humbug Concession” with the Amandebele Nkosi Lobengula. The documents for this concession were finalised after one of Lippert’s Matabeleland agents, Renny-Tailyour, was able to convince the Nkosi to attach his royal elephant stamp, along with various signatures to an otherwise blank sheet of paper, which was forwarded to advocate J.W. Leonard with what were allegedly notes in layman’s language detailing the agreement. The final document, of course, contained a great deal more than what the Amandebele monarch had bargained for.
As with Sebele, Lobengula and his indunas were apparently attracted by the prospect of undercutting the British Royal Charter claims of BSACO in their territory. While the full story of how Lippert’s men gained the Amandebele confidence only to betray it is a book unto itself, it is worth noting that the trust had been meticulously cultivated. Bulawayo agents, both European and African, on Lippert’s payroll had long been in the forefront of exposing and opposing Rhodes designs through activities as grand as the prospect of organising diplomatic missions to London and Berlin and as simple as availing and translating newspaper articles and other documents for the Nkosi.
