At the time, Boer farmers used the Bahurutshe as slaves on their corn fields around Bloemfontein. A group of Bahurutshe, led by Kgosi Manyana Mangope, escaped and fled north to seek help from Setshele I and the Bakwena tribe in Manyana. The Bakwena and other surrounding tribes were recovering from attacks in the 1830s by the Zulu Kingdom as they moved towards present-day Zimbabwe. The Boers followed the Bahurutshe into Bakwena territory and asked for Kgosi Mangope's whereabouts.