Jacob Zuma’s bride-to-be confirms engagement, and had his child

Nonkanyiso Conco, the young woman in her mid-twenties who is engaged to former president Jacob Zuma, confirmed to TimesLive on Friday that they will be wed.

The Ballito resident will be Zuma’s seventh bride, and is more than 50 years younger than him.

News24 confirmed on Friday that she bore a child to Zuma on the former president’s 76th birthday, Thursday last week.

TimesLive quoted her as saying: “Yes‚ we are getting married‚ but that is all I can say. I need to consult before I give any interviews‚” she said.

She is the director of the Pietermaritzburg-based Nomkhubulwane Culture and Youth Development Organisation‚ aimed at protecting the cultural practices of Zulu maidens.

Zuma and his family have apparently already paid lobola for her, and both families are understood to be happy with the union. Polygamy is common in Zulu culture and tradition.

A source close to them told The Citizen: “Both families are ecstatic.”

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“He [Zuma] promised that he will marry the girl after his presidency, and he has kept that promise,” said the source.

When The Citizen called senior family member Ray Zuma on the matter, however, he said Zuma was no longer the president and was living his life as a more private citizen.

His personal life should therefore not be seen as something for the “public to see a problem with”, he said.

He added that in African culture one should never hurry to pronounce on weddings, as custom dictated that even if lobola had been paid, it could take “up to seven years” for the marriage to actually happen.

“Jacob Zuma now belongs to the family, and this is a family matter,” said Ray Zuma.