Mpande's apparent passivity has been interpreted in different ways. He has often been identified as a "simpleton" or "the fool of the family", in the words of J Y Gibson. James O. Gump, however, describes him as a "savvy survivor in the Machiavellian world of Zulu politics". Gibson himself says that in his youth he was an imposing figure, quoting a French witness who said he had a regal bearing such that "a Parisian might believe that Umpande, in his youth, had frequented the palaces of kings". However, there is considerable evidence of his "lethargy and indifference" to ruling, even in his early years, when many of the decisions were made by his sons.