Lundi Tyamara, 38, had been admitted to hospital four weeks ago but passed away this morning. He became ill after returning from a trip to China.

In a statement, his family said: "We got the call just after 1am this morning. We are all shocked. We never expected this to happen. The family is taking it very hard."

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba tweeted: "Deep condolences to the family of gospel singer and star Lundi Tyamara who passed on earlier. May his soul rest in peace."

He sold more than 3 million copies of his gospel albums during his career and received recognition from the South African Music Awards and Kora All Africa Awards for his work.

A South African gospel singer has died after a short battle with tuberculosis, his family have confirmed.