Battle for Balobedu throne intensifies over succession rules

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s lawyer, Advocate Zinzile Matebese, has questioned why the Balobedu Royal Council took ten years after the death of Queen Makobo Modjadji VI to establish a rule that a person could not be regarded as part of the royal family if they lived outside the royal homestead.

Matebese is representing President Cyril Ramaphosa while also acting for, Queen Masalanabo Modjadji VII, in the fierce ongoing Pretoria High Court battle over the Balobedu throne.

The court has heard that the royal family unanimously resolved in 2015 that Masalanabo should not ascend to the throne.

The succession dispute pits Masalanabo against her older half-brother, Prince Lekukela Modjadji, who argues that his sister did not undergo the customary rituals required to become the Rain Queen while she was living away from the royal family under the care of her foster parents.

Matebese challenged the faction supporting Prince Lekukela, questioning why the alleged residency rule was only introduced years after Masalanabo had left Khetlakone in Modjadjiskloof, Limpopo.

He also disputed claims that Masalanabo failed to undergo the customary rituals required for her coronation.

The court further heard allegations that members of the faction had advised President Cyril Ramaphosa on the customary requirements he needed to consider when determining Masalanabo’s eligibility to become queen.

Despite those representations, Ramaphosa formally recognised Masalanabo’s ascension to the throne in 2024.

Matebese suggested that the complainants had misrepresented their involvement by claiming they had advised the President on the matter.

He also argued that Masalanabo should not be penalised for circumstances beyond her control, particularly because she was raised away from the royal homestead as a child.

The legal battle centres, in part, on Masalanabo’s upbringing.

A faction of the Balobedu Royal Council, supported by Prince Lekukela, maintains that because Masalanabo was raised in Johannesburg by the Motshekgas, the traditional council did not have adequate access to prepare and groom her for the responsibilities of a traditional monarch.

Dr Mathole Motshekga, a former legal adviser to the Balobedu Royal Family, and his wife, former minister, Angie Motshekga, raised Masalanabo in Gauteng from infancy after the death of her mother, Queen Makobo Modjadji VI, in 2005.

He further told the court that matters involving children must be approached with particular care, arguing that their constitutional rights and best interests cannot simply be disregarded because of disputes within a royal family.

Masalanabo has long been regarded as the hereditary heir to the Balobedu throne and the traditional Rain Queen of the Balobedu nation.

Meanwhile, Advocate Lerato Phasha, part of Queen Modjadji VII’s legal team, read an explanatory affidavit dealing with what she described as errors and omissions raised by the royal family.

Phasha rejected the narrative that Masalanabo had failed to undergo the customary rituals required before her coronation.

However, Advocate Henk Havenga, representing Prince Lekukela, objected to the affidavit being introduced in court.

He argued that it contained information the complainants had not previously been made aware of and therefore amounted to a breach of court rules.

Phasha maintained that her intention was simply to respond to the issues raised by the complainants, rather than argue the merits of the case.

After hearing the arguments, the presiding judge allowed Phasha to read the Queen’s affidavit into the record.

Reading from the affidavit, Phasha said Masalanabo underwent initiation under the guidance of Mrs Johanna Mohadi Nimkoto ga Mashao, who was the principal overseer of the process.

“I mentioned that I underwent initiation under the guidance of Mrs. Johanna Mohadi Nimkoto ga Mashao. Mme Johanna Mohadi was the person in charge of the initiation I attended. The reference to guardianship in respect of Mme Johanna Mohadi should not be understood to mean under the tutilage differently from the reference to guardianship in respct of Julia Mabale as mentioned in the confirmatory affidavit of Lufuno Mabale.”

Caught a glimpse of the the balobedu throne battle… the legal council for the president makes valid points

— Hellen Sele (@Mahlatse57) September 3, 2026

The court case ya the Balobedu throne dispute will probably end like the Amazulu throne battle. So all along the uncle had no intention of returning the throne to the Queen as their claim is that he was training the Prince? 😏

— IHaveAnMBAandItWorks (@Tebogo_ZA) September 2, 2026

Written by: Odirile Rabalao