South Africa: Amabhaca Queen Mother Passes Away

21 December 2023
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Celani Sikhakhane

The Royal Kingdom of KwaBhaca is in mourning after the passing of its queen, Queen MaMjoli Nombuyiselo Diko.

She was the mother of the controversial AmaBhaca chief Madzikane II Thandisizwe Diko, who passed away in 2021.

Her son was labelled a self-styled king after the Eastern Cape government rejected his status as monarch.

Royal family spokesperson Lumko Mtimde said Queen MaMjoli passed away on Tuesday at Margate Private Hospital near Port Shepstone on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal after a short illness.

"Isizwe samaBhaca, iKomkhulu Elundzini and the royal family are saddened by the terrible loss of our mother, grandmother, Indlovukazi MaMjoli Nombuyiselo Rose Diko," said Mtimde.

"Ndlovukazi passed away in the midday of Tuesday, 19 December 2023 at Margate Netcare hospital."

Queen MaMjoli's funeral will take place next week on Wednesday 27 December at Elundzini's Great Palace of KwaBhaca.

Mtimde said the programme will start at 9 am and Queen MaMjoli Diko will be buried at the Encunteni Gravesite.

The family is still fighting for its recognition as a Kingdom of kwaBhaca by the Eastern Cape government.

In 2021 the Eastern Cape government claimed that Queen MaMjoli's family didn't have a recognised royal kingdom status. Instead, her son was regarded as a chief of two villages of AmaBhaca.

Read the original article on Scrolla.

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