At the centre of the Balobedu succession battle is whether or not introducing a male monarch would bring an end to the era of Rain Queens as leaders of the prominent Balobedu people in Limpopo.
An urgent court application set to be heard before the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria today (Friday) forms part of the ongoing legal fracas to either advance the daughter of the late Rain Queen Princess Masalanabo Modjadji or her old brother Prince Lekukela Modjadi.
Masalanabo and Lekukela’s mother reigned as the sixth female ruler of the Balobedu nation until her death at the age of 27 in 2005. Her passing was followed by legal disputes on who should ascend the prestigious throne, famed for its rain making powers. But in the meantime Prince Mpapatla Modjadji was installed as regent to preside over more than 130 villages.
Today's court hearings of an application lodged by former ANC chief whip and royal legal advisor Mathole Motshekga, who is Princess Masalababo’s legal guardian, seeks to stop a traditional inauguration ceremony aimed at preparing Prince Lekukela to take over as the king of Balobedu.
According to the Modjadji Royal Council, the traditional activities expected to start today will not interfere with a pending case that was also brought by Motshekga to determine who the rightful heir should be between the two siblings.
If Masalanabo succeeds, she will become the seventh Rain Queen dating back from the 1800s. But if her older brother Lekukela wins, the age of queens would be interrupted, and the dynasty would return to the period when male rulers also presided over the nation.
The administration of the Balobedu nation and their sacred rain making rituals are said to have been overseen by kings for at least 200 years from the 1600s until the first rain queen took over around the 1800s.
In 1972 the apartheid regime reduced the then Rain Queen Makoma Modjadji to a chieftainess until former President Jacob Zuma restored the monarchy’s rightful title through the Kgatla Commission. In April 2003 Makobo was crowned as queen until her death in 2005.
Makobos daughter Masalanabo was then recognised as the next heir to the throne through the Tolo Commission, while President Cyril Ramaphosa publicly endorsed her as Queen-elect in 2018.
But the schism between Motshekga, who also served as advisor to two Rain Queens, started after he was appointed as Masalanabo’s legal guardian following the queen’s death.
Motshekga was granted custody of the princess in 2005 and continues to raise Masalanabo. But the royal council has demanded that she be returned to the royal kraal, while accusing Motshekga of trying to capture Masalanabo for his own personal gains.
The situation got heated when in May 2021 the royal family announced that Lekukela was selected as king, resulting in Motshekga lodging an application to challenge their decision. Motshekga has argued that the royal council is driven by patriarchy and is hellbent on denying the princess her opportunity to take over the throne when she turns 18 next year.
However, the council has maintained that Masalanabo was not raised and instructed according to the sacred ways of the Balobedu, and would not be ready to be queen.
They have instead accused Motshekga of disregarding Balobedu custom and capturing the princess in order to advance his own interests. The council has argued that Lekukela is the rightful heir as the late queen’s first born son, while he would be following in the footsteps of kings who have ruled the nation before.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
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