Nomcebo Zuma, the 21-year-old daughter of South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma, is set to marry King Mswati III of Eswatini, the last absolute monarch in Africa. The engagement was made official at the annual Reed Dance ceremony, a traditional rite of passage for young women and girls.
According to Alpheous Nxumalo, a spokesman for the Eswatini monarchy, Nomcebo and King Mswati’s marriage is a love match. “Love has no eyes to see or count age. Love happens between two people. It can happen between a person who is 100 years old and a person who is above the average of what is permitted constitutionally,” Nxumalo told the BBC’s Newsday program.
King Mswati, 56, has been married 15 times and currently has 11 wives. His polygamous lifestyle has been criticized, with some accusing him of living in luxury while his people suffer in poverty. Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, has a population of 1.1 million and one of the world’s highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection.
Jacob Zuma, Nomcebo’s father, has also faced controversy, including corruption allegations and a court case over a 1999 arms deal. Despite this, he remains a respected figure among his supporters for upholding his cultural and traditional Zulu beliefs.
The marriage between Nomcebo and King Mswati is not the first connection between the two families. Jacob Zuma and King Mswati are already relatives through marriage, and there are strong traditional ties between Eswatini and South Africa’s Zulu monarchy.
Critics have accused King Mswati of living in luxury while his people languish in poverty, and his heavy-handed treatment of opponents has also come under scrutiny. However, the royal family maintains that the marriage is a love match and not a political alliance.