King Mswati III, the 56-year-old Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) monarch, has become engaged to 21-year-old Nomcebo Zuma, daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma. The engagement was announced during the annual reed dance ceremony, a traditional rite of womanhood where young women sing and dance bare-chested.
Nomcebo Zuma will become the king’s 16th wife. King Mswati has been criticized for his polygamous lifestyle and lavish spending while many of his subjects live in poverty. He has ruled Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, since 1986.
The reed dance ceremony, also known as Umhlanga, is a significant cultural event in Eswatini. Around 5,000 people attended this year’s celebration at the Ludzidzini royal village in Lobamba.
King Mswati has a history of marrying young women, including his 13th wife, Phindile Nkambule, who was 17 when they became engaged in 2005. The king has dozens of children and has been accused of human rights abuses, including the abduction of his 10th wife, Zena Mahlangu, in 2003.
Nomcebo Zuma comes from a large polygamous family; her father, Jacob Zuma, has been married six times and has over 20 children. He was forced to resign as South African president in 2018 due to corruption allegations.
