/
RSS Feed
The 21-year-old daughter of South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma, Nomcebo Zuma, is set to marry King Mswati III of Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarch, for love, according to a spokesperson for the kingdom.
The engagement was formalized earlier this week at the conclusion of the eight-day reed dance ceremony, a traditional event that celebrates the coming-of-age of young women. King Mswati, 56, currently has 11 wives and has been married 15 times.
Eswatini’s government spokesperson, Alpheous Nxumalo, dismissed any suggestions of a political motive behind the marriage. “Love knows no age. It’s a union between two people, regardless of age or status.”
King Mswati has ruled Eswatini for 38 years, often facing criticism for his luxurious lifestyle.
Jacob Zuma, who led South Africa from 2009 to 2018, shares a family connection with King Mswati through marriage and is currently undergoing a political resurgence despite facing corruption charges. His newly established party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), placed third in South Africa’s recent general election. Zuma, 82, has several wives and is believed to have 20 children.
Nomcebo Zuma, whose mother is Nonkululeko Mhlongo, Zuma’s long-time fiancée, participated in the reed dance ceremony, wearing the vibrant colors of the Eswatini kingdom. On the final day, she was presented as the “liphovela,” or royal fiancée. The Umhlanga ceremony, where the king traditionally selects a bride, is designed to promote sexual abstinence among young women.
King Mswati’s marriages have raised eyebrows before, particularly when he married Phindile Nkambule at age 17 in 2005, shortly after lifting a ban on sexual relations for girls under 18. He had previously fined himself a cow for breaking that rule by marrying a 17-year-old as his ninth wife.
