He was granted formal status as Inkosi of the Ndzundza Mabusa Tribal Authority in Mpumalanga in late 2001 and held that position until his death in 2005.
[1] He was born into the Ndzundza royal family as the second-eldest son of the reigning Ndebele king, Ingwenyama Mabusabesala II (also known as David Mabhoko Mahlangu), and his wife Queen Johanna Selepi.
[1] In 1981, the apartheid government granted self-governing status to KwaNdebele, a bantustan devised to accommodate South Africa's Ndebele population under the policy of separate development.
Mahlangu was viewed as a leader of the so-called "Comrades" movement, which was generally allied with the anti-apartheid United Democratic Front and which often clashed violently with Imbokodo, a pro-government vigilante group, and with KwaNdebele police forces.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission later concluded that he was "continually harassed, detained, tortured and had his property destroyed by the Kwa-Ndebele Police" between 1986 and 1987.
[8][3] The following week, the legislative assembly voted in favour of joining the so-called TBVC states in becoming a (nominally) independent republic.
[4] He held that position throughout South Africa's democratic transition, leaving on 26 April 1994; thereafter, KwaNdebele was reintegrated into the republic, becoming part of the new Mpumalanga province.
[10] According to Jeff Peires, Mahlangu joined Parliament "under the impression that then President Nelson Mandela had promised him a seat in the national cabinet", but he was disappointed.
[1] The Mail & Guardian later reported that he had sought early retirement on the grounds that he had poorly controlled systemic hypertension and had incurred brain damage as a complication of recurrent cardiovascular accidents.
[15] The tribe was established in terms of South African law on 28 September, called the Ndzundza Mabusa Tribal Authority and holding jurisdiction over Klipplaatdrift, Waterval and KwaMagula, rural areas in Mpumalanga province.