This chapter explores the use of martial law courts to punish and remove a number of chiefs after the Zulu rebellion of 1906. It focuses on the debates generated by two controversial trials under martial law: that of twenty Africans for the murder of two white policemen at the start of the unrest, and that of chief Tilonko for public order offences, which led to his deportation to St Helena. Taking place at a time when the colony was at peace, these episodes raised questions both about how far civilian courts could review military powers exercised under a proclamation of martial law and about the nature and purpose of indemnity legislation. In addressing them, the Privy Council once again took a very executive-minded view of emergency powers. Although officials at the Colonial Office were more sensitive to the demands of the rule of law, they were also prepared to defer to the political demands of a self-governing colony for severe action. Comparing the response to martial law in the Cape in 1899–1902 and Natal in 1906 reveals how much fidelity to the rule of law depended on how far its targets were perceived to be part of the political community whose rights needed protection.