T
SOUTH AFRICA
THE daughter of South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma and King Mswati of Eswatini have been engaged in a traditional ceremony.
Nomcebo Zuma, 21, was among hundreds of women and girls who participated in Umhlanga Reed Dance for the monarch on Monday, and she will become King Mswati wife, AFP reported.
While the days-long ceremony is a traditional rite of womanhood, it is also the occasion when King Mswati, 56, makes clear his choice of a new wife.
Held at the Ludzidzini Royal Village at Lobamba, 23 kilometres southeast of the capital Mbabane, the ceremony, which attracted 5,000 people, attended by South Africa’s Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and former Botswana President Ian Khama.
Mswati’s brother said last week that Nomcebo Zuma would attend the Reed Dance as the “liphovela”, which means the royal fiancée or concubine.
The monarch already has at least 14 wives and 25 children