Senior traditional leader and self-styled king of the AmaBhaca, Nkosi Thandisizwe Madzikane II Diko, 43, husband of controversial suspended presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko, has died in a hospital in East London.

There are few details available on the exact nature of the illness that led to his death on Sunday, which was confirmed to HeraldLIVE sister publication, DispatchLIVE, by royal family members.