The Yeke Kingdom collapsed with shocking speed. The empire, so dependent on the personal charisma, strategic genius, and ruthless authority of Msiri, could not survive him. His sons and successors, including Mukanda-Bantu and his daughter, the formidable Mwami (Queen) Maria Fwasa, led desperate resistance for a few years, but they were overwhelmed by the superior firepower and brutal counterinsurgency tactics of the Congo Free State's Force Publique. Many Yeke fled south across the Luapula River into what is now Zambia, where their descendants live today, preserving their distinct identity and the memory of Msiri.

: The Yeke army was one of the first in the region to be extensively equipped with muskets, giving them a decisive advantage over neighboring traditional kingdoms like the Kazembe.

Negotiations quickly broke down. Msiri was a master of delay and bluster, hoping to play the Belgians off against the British (Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company was also eyeing Katanga). On December 20, 1891, a heated argument erupted in Msiri’s compound. Accounts vary, but the most reliable version states that Msiri, brandishing a copper axe, advanced on Stairs. Stairs’ lieutenant, the Belgian Captain Omer Bodson, drew his revolver and shot Msiri in the chest, then in the head. Bodson was himself speared and mortally wounded by a Yeke bodyguard in the ensuing chaos.