Mabuti I
| Mabuti I | |
|---|---|
 The Gibixego Head, believed to be Mabuti | |
| Karame of Njinjiland and the Sisulu | |
| Reign | c. 1755 – c. 1782 |
| Successor | Mabuti II |
| Born | c. 1730 Garambura |
| Died | c. 1782 Garambura |
| Issue | Mabuti |
Mabuti I, also sometimes rendered as Mabhuti, was a local Garamburan Karame under the Hourege system, and the first Karame of the Confederation of Njinjiland and the Sisulu, overthrowing the rule of the veRwizi Empire in Garambura. He is perhaps most well known for conducting a successful raid on Sainte-Germaine against the Gaullicans in 1772. Little is known about Mabuti's life and reign, and the only documented history of him is during the plundering. The famous Gibixego Head excavated near Tawira in 1929 is believed to a statue of Mabuti.
Reign
It is believed that Mabuti overthrew the local vassal rulers to the veRwizi Empire in Garambura sometime around 1755, aged 25. He installed himself as Karame the same year and, according to some documents, sent some sort of delegation to the court of Habasha. Despite this, Mabuti was seen as unfavourable towards the Sotirian and Yebase community in Habasha and Garambura, having been known to destroy Sotirian landmarks and statues and replace them with fetishist idols.
Plundering of Sainte-Germaine
In 1772, Mabuti and his army of around 10,000 ambushed the Gaullican trade city of Sainte-Germaine, plundering and looting the city and causing major disruption to Gaullican shipping routes in the region. Mabuti himself is known to have been present in Sainte-Germaine during the plundering. Mabuti and his people stole gold, valuable items and reportedly also kidnapped people as trophies, however these claims have not yet been verified. In retaliation the Gaullican Lower Gonda Company inflicted a heavy defeat on the Confederacy in 1774 at the Battle of Ingezi, bringing more of the Lower Gonda under company rule and encroaching closer to the Confederate capital of Tawira.
Death
Historians agree Mabuti died somewhere around the early 1780s, with 1780–1782 being the most agreed upon range. He was succeeded by his son, Mabuti II.
Foreign relations
Mabuti had no known allies whilst Karame of Njinjiland and the Sisulu, but had staunch rivals in the Lower Gonda Company and Sotirian Habasha. Some historians believe the Confederacy and the Wopoto Empire in Rwizikuru made contact, but this claim is widely disputed by many historians.