Eswatini's King Mswati III and Jacob Zuma's daughter Nomcebo at the 2024 Umhlanga Reed Dance ceremony. Picture: Emmanuel Croset/ AFP
The reeds have spoken in confirmation of Nomcebo Zuma’s engagement to Eswatini King Mswati III when the 21-year-old joined the ranks of hundreds of Swati women and girls in dancing for the polygamous monarch at the annual Reed Dance.
The daughter of former president and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party leader Jacob Zuma appeared in the tiny kingdom’s colourful traditional garb as the “liphovela” or royal fiancée of the 56-year-old king on Monday evening.
While the eight-day-long ceremony is a traditional rite of womanhood, it is also the occasion when King Mswati makes clear his choice of a new wife.
The ruler of the last remaining absolute monarchy in Africa has been married 15 times already. He currently has 11 wives – some of whom he married when they were minors – and has fathered 36 children.
It is rumoured that Nomcebo caught the king’s roving eye during the double celebration of his birthday and the country’s 55th Independence Day anniversary held at the Somhlolo National Stadium, in Lobamba, Eswatini, last year.
Nomcebo, of course, is no stranger to polygamous relationship with her 82-year-old Zulu father boasting six wives and at least 20 children.
Mswati’s “Wife No 12” is the daughter of Zuma and Nonkululeko Hloniphile Mhlongo (MaMhlongo). Despite the couple sharing two children, MaMhlongo is not legally married to Zuma.
The Citizen previously reported that the lobola for Nomcebo amounted to a staggering R2 million and 100 head of cattle.
Following the reed dance ceremony, a spokesperson for the monarchy stated that Nomcebo will be marrying Mswati “for love”.
“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,” he told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
Political analyst Mandla Hlatshwayo has, however, dismissed the monarchy’s rosy talk of love, claiming the union is a strategic move aimed at cementing economic and political interests.
“President Zuma’s role and capacity to be a major ambassador for Swaziland or the Swazi royal family is a non-contestable issue,” Hlatshwayo told Voice of America.
“This has become even far more important in my view with the development or the emergence of MK as a political party with President Zuma as its absolute president.”
There are strong traditional ties between Eswatini and South Africa’s Zulu monarchy – the current Zulu king, Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, is Mswati III’s nephew.
To top this off, Zuma and Mswati are also already relatives through marriage.
Sicelo Mngomezulu, a Swazi-born, South Africa-based lawyer, reckons the marriage will strengthen bilateral relations between the king and Zuma.
“As we know by now, the former president and king are actually business partners in some shape or form … and so, we expect that part of their relationship will actually blossom.”
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Speaking to Voice of America, former Eswatini lawmaker Mduduzi Simelane pointed out that the king’s wedding will no doubt be an expensive affair.
“Firstly, this high-profile wedding, with its steep dowry of 100 cattle and R2 million and all the other hidden costs associated with a wedding of this nature, puts a significant strain on Swaziland’s economy.
“Secondly, within royal circles, this union has also been met with internal opposition among the royal wives. … This marriage will cause an uproar.”
Forbes Magazine listed King Mswati III in 2023 as one of the 15 richest royals in the world, with a fortune worth $500 million (about R10 billion).
This is while about 70% of his kingdom’s population is living below the poverty line, coupled with a collapsed health and education system.
In a December 2023 report, Swaziland News revealed that in the midst of his nation’s struggles with poverty, the king boasts shares in major companies in the construction, tourism, agriculture, telecommunications and forestry industries among others.
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