The 21-year-old daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma is marrying the Eswatini king out of love, according to a spokeswoman for Africa’s only absolute monarchy.
Nomcebo Zuma’s engagement to King Mswati III was announced earlier this week at the conclusion of an eight-day reed dance festival, a traditional rite of passage for young ladies and girls done annually.
The 56-year-old monarch is currently polygamous, with 11 wives, and has married 15 times in all.
Eswatini spokesman Alpheous Nxumalo flatly rejected the idea that the marriage would represent a political alliance.
“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.
Mr Zuma, South Africa’s president from 2009 to 2018, and King Mswati are already related by marriage.
Critics accuse King Mswati, who rules by order and has been on the throne for 38 years, of living in luxury with his polygamous family while the majority of his people live in poverty.
Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, has a population of 1.1 million and one of the world’s highest HIV/AIDS infection rates.
The harsh treatment of the king’s opponents in Eswatini, which is nearly totally bordered by South Africa, has also been criticised. .
