Poems, songs, tributes and jubilant celebrations filled the air as hundreds of mourners, including senior government officials and traditional leaders, gathered to send Hosi Dr. Phylia Tinyiko Lwandlamuni N\u2019wamitwa II to her final resting place. <\/p>\n
She died on Monday, 09 February 2026 in a hospital in Johannesburg aged 85.<\/p>\n
Hosi N\u2019wamitwa II was accorded a category 2 official Provincial Funeral service which was held at Valoyi Cultural Village in N\u2019wamitwa outside Tzaneen, Greater Mopani District on Sunday 22 February 2026.<\/p>\n
The Provincial Funeral was attended by various dignitaries\u2019 including State President of the Republic of South Africa Mr. Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, Limpopo Premier Dr. Phophi Ramathuba, Minister of Defence Ms. Angie Motshekga and the Minister in the Presidency Ms. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni amongst others. <\/p>\n
Hosi N\u2019wamitwa II made history when she became the first female Traditional Leader of the Valoyi community back in 2008 following a protracted court battle against her cousin Mr. Sydwell N\u2019wamitwa, the son of her father\u2019s younger brother over the throne.
\nKnown for being a unifier in the community, Hosi Nwamitwa II, was a committed leader and an epitome of wisdom within the Institution of Traditional Leadership in the Province who championed the construction of schools and clinics in the community.<\/p>\n
Hosi N\u2019wamitwa II was also a member of parliament during the dawn of democracy in South Africa (1994 until 2009).
\nPresident Ramaphosa described Hosi N\u2019wamitwa II as a trailblazer and a visionary who served the nation with pride. <\/p>\n
\u201cHosi N\u2019wamitwa II was a trailblazer, a visionary and a leader who in many ways sat at an intersection of customary governance, constitutional democracy, gender transformation and rural developments, not only in Limpopo but also in our country. The late Hosi was also a philanthropist who leaves behind a rich legacy of community development and advancing the rights of rural women. She was firm that women should receive equal treatment in traditional courts on matters relating to customary disputes. She was a steadfast advocate for women\u2019s rights and a powerful voice against gender-based violence. She was a custodian of the culture of the VA Tsonga and supported the work and efforts of the N\u2019wamitwa Cultural Village and Museum.\u201d Ramaphosa said <\/p>\n
President Ramaphosa highlighted that Hosi N\u2019wamitwa II\u2019s use of the Constitutional Court to ascend chieftaincy when patriarchy attempted to deprive her birthright was another sign of triumph for women emancipation. <\/p>\n
Ramaphosa said N\u2019wamitwa embodied the spirit of the women of 1956 who marched to the Union Buildings, the seat of apartheid power, to assert that they will not tolerate being oppressed and marginalized.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2008, when she was officially installed as the first female Hosi of the VaTsonga, history was made. When the Constitutional Court ruled that the Valoyi Traditional Authority was entitled to adapt its customary succession rule to allow a woman to become Hosi, it was a great advance for all traditional communities in South Africa and on the continent. Going to court to assert her right to chieftaincy took great courage, resilience and strength of character. She stood up to claim the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.\u201d Ramaphosa added <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Poems, songs, tributes and jubilant celebrations filled the air as hundreds of mourners, including senior government officials and traditional leaders, gathered to send Hosi Dr. Phylia Tinyiko Lwandlamuni N\u2019wamitwa II to her final resting place. She died on Monday, 09 February 2026 in a hospital in Johannesburg aged 85. Hosi N\u2019wamitwa II was accorded a category 2 official Provincial Funeral service which was held at Valoyi Cultural Village in N\u2019wamitwa outside Tzaneen, Greater Mopani District on Sunday 22 February 2026. The Provincial Funeral was attended by various dignitaries\u2019 including State President of the Republic of South Africa Mr. Cyril Matamela\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":4}},"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","bsk-pdf-dashboard-list-thumbnail":""},"post_excerpt_stackable":"
Poems, songs, tributes and jubilant celebrations filled the air as hundreds of mourners, including senior government officials and traditional leaders, gathered to send Hosi Dr. Phylia Tinyiko Lwandlamuni N\u2019wamitwa II to her final resting place. She died on Monday, 09 February 2026 in a hospital in Johannesburg aged 85. Hosi N\u2019wamitwa II was accorded a category 2 official Provincial Funeral service which was held at Valoyi Cultural Village in N\u2019wamitwa outside Tzaneen, Greater Mopani District on Sunday 22 February 2026. The Provincial Funeral was attended by various dignitaries\u2019 including State President of the Republic of South Africa Mr. Cyril Matamela…<\/p>\n","category_list":"News<\/a>","author_info":{"name":"Maano Nekhavhambe","url":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/?author=7"},"comments_num":"0 comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8794"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8795,"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8794\/revisions\/8795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limpopo.gov.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}