Makobo Modjadji, alive or dead?

CNN is reporting that

Monday, June 13, 2005 Posted: 12:12 PM EDT (1612 GMT)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- Makobo Modjadji, the famed rain queen of South Africa's Balobedu people, has died of unspecified causes after just two years in power, the Modjadji Royal Council said Monday. She was 27.

The queen was admitted to the Medi-Clinic in Polokwane on Friday with symptoms that included vomiting and died two days later, council spokesman Clement Modjadji told the South African Press Association. He did not disclose the cause of death.

The Balobedu of the northern Limpopo province believe magical powers are passed down from queen to queen allowing her to transform clouds and create rain at a special ceremony held in November each year.

Makobo Modjadji, who was crowned in 2003 at the age of 25, was the tribe's sixth and youngest queen and the only one to be formally educated. The tribe is one of the few in Africa to have a leader who comes from a female line of succession.

However.....
http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,106444,00.html

June 13, 2005, 05:30

The Modjadji Royal Council has denied reports that their queen, known as the Rain Queen, has passed away. Earlier reports said Queen Makobo Modjadji had been admitted to the Polokwane Medi-Clinic where she later died.Kelly Modjadji, the chairperson of the council, says this is untrue. The Polokwane Medi-Clinic could not confirm or deny whether Queen Modjadji had been admitted to the clinic.All queries have been referred to the Royal Council.

then....
June 13, 2005, 14:30

The Modjadji Royal Council has confirmed that Rain Queen Makobo Modjadji of the Balobedu people in Limpopo has died as a result of an 'undisclosed illness'.The Rain Queen was admitted to Polokwane Medi-Clinic on Friday and is believed to have passed away yesterday morning. She leaves behind two children - a boy and a girl.Modjadji, the sixth in a line of Balobedu rain queens, was crowned in 2003 at the age of 25 after the death of Mokope Modjadji, her grandmother. Officials at the clinic refused to reveal the cause of her death, citing an agreement with the Royal Kraal not to disclose any information about her illness. Last year, Modjadji was frequently ill and could not fully take part in ceremonies with other queens. However, in October she appeared to be well enough to participate in rain-making rituals.Apart from ruling over the Balobedu tribe, the queen is also considered to be a rainmaker.

The history of the Rain Queens is an interesting one....a site for those of you wanting to read more....

http://www.prominentpeople.co.za/people/47.php