The long-running dispute over who should occupy the Balobedu throne has returned to the Pretoria High Court, with arguments over customary law, royal succession and the upbringing of Queen Masalanabo Modjadji VII once again taking centre stage.
Prince Lekukela Modjadji is challenging President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recognition of his half-sister, Masalanabo, as the rightful Balobedu monarch. The matter has placed one of South Africa’s most prominent traditional leadership disputes firmly before the courts.
A royal dispute with deep roots
The case centres on competing claims over the succession to the Modjadji throne, traditionally associated with the Balobedu Rain Queen.
Masalanabo is the daughter of the late Queen Makobo Modjadji VI, who died in 2005. After her mother’s death, Masalanabo was raised in Gauteng by Dr Mathole Motshekga, a former legal adviser to the Balobedu royal family, and his wife, former minister Angie Motshekga.
Her upbringing away from the royal homestead has since become one of the key issues in the succession dispute.
A faction of the Balobedu Royal Council supporting Lekukela argues that Masalanabo was not adequately prepared for the responsibilities associated with becoming monarch because she was raised outside the royal environment.
The faction has also questioned whether she completed the customary processes traditionally associated with becoming Rain Queen.
Lekukela’s challenge to Ramaphosa’s decision
Lekukela is asking the court to intervene in Ramaphosa’s decision to recognise Masalanabo as monarch.
The President formally recognised Masalanabo in 2024, despite objections from members of the royal family. The recognition has become a central point of the current legal battle.
Lekukela’s side maintains that the royal council had grounds to reject Masalanabo’s succession and had instead supported his claim to the throne.
The dispute therefore goes beyond a family disagreement, with the court being asked to consider the relationship between traditional customs, royal succession and the President’s constitutional role in recognising traditional leaders.
Questions over the residency rule
One of the issues raised in court concerns a rule that people living outside the royal homestead could not be regarded as members of the royal family for succession purposes.
Advocate Zinzile Matebese, representing Ramaphosa and Masalanabo, questioned why the alleged rule was only introduced years after Masalanabo had already left Khetlakone in Modjadjiskloof.
The court heard that the royal family had unanimously resolved in 2015 that Masalanabo should not ascend to the throne.
Matebese challenged the reasoning behind the residency requirement and argued that Masalanabo should not be disadvantaged because she had been raised away from the royal homestead as a child.
Masalanabo’s team disputes initiation claims
Masalanabo’s legal team has rejected claims that she failed to undergo the customary rituals required for her eventual coronation.
Her lawyers told the court that she had undergone initiation under the guidance of Mrs Johanna Mohadi Nimkoto ga Mashao, who was identified as the person overseeing the process.
The court also heard arguments concerning an affidavit submitted on behalf of the Queen. Although Lekukela’s legal representative objected to the affidavit being introduced, the presiding judge allowed it to be read into the record.
Why the Rain Queen title matters
The Modjadji monarchy is one of South Africa’s most distinctive traditional institutions. The Rain Queen is the hereditary female monarch of the Balobedu and is historically associated with rainmaking traditions and the spiritual life of the community.
The position has also become an important part of Limpopo’s cultural identity and heritage.
That history gives the current succession dispute significance far beyond the individuals involved. At its heart is a question of who has the legitimate authority to carry forward one of the country’s best-known traditional royal institutions.
A throne caught between tradition and the law
The Pretoria proceedings are now testing competing interpretations of Balobedu custom against South Africa’s constitutional and legal framework.
For Lekukela’s supporters, the issue is about respecting the decisions and customs of the royal council.
For Masalanabo’s side, the argument is that her hereditary position and the circumstances of her childhood cannot simply be used to prevent her from assuming the role for which she has long been regarded as an heir.
