KIMBERLEY/NORTHERN CAPE — Tuesday, 16 December 2025 — The National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (NHTKL) has announced the passing of Kgosi V.B. Mahura, described as the institution’s eldest member and a longstanding voice for the place of traditional leadership within South Africa’s constitutional democracy.

In a media release issued on Tuesday, NHTKL chairperson Kgosi Thabo Seatlholo said the passing marks a “profound loss” to the institution of traditional leadership and the nation.

Kgosi Mahura was installed as a traditional leader in 1991 and led the Ba-Ga Mahura traditional community for more than three decades, serving through key national milestones including South Africa’s 1994 transition to democracy and the subsequent recognition of traditional leadership within the democratic state.

At the time of his passing, Kgosi Mahura was serving his third term in the NHTKL. The House said he was regarded as a custodian of institutional memory, valued for his articulation on matters of Bokgosi and for his steadfast defence of the authority and relevance of traditional leadership in a constitutional dispensation.

The NHTKL also highlighted Kgosi Mahura’s lineage, noting that he was a descendant of the Batlhaping, who participated in the Langeberg Uprising — a late 19th-century struggle in which Batlhaping and other indigenous communities resisted colonial dispossession, including land loss and the erosion of traditional authority. The House said that legacy shaped his leadership values and his lifelong commitment to justice, dignity and the protection of customary land and institutions.

Kgosi Seatlholo, on behalf of the NHTKL leadership and membership, extended condolences to the Mahura Royal Family, the Ba-Ga Mahura traditional community, fellow traditional leaders and all those mourning the loss.

Further details on memorial and funeral arrangements will be communicated in due course, the NHTKL said.

-The VIP Team 

-NHTKL