Nomcebo Zuma, the daughter of ex- South African president Jacob Zuma accepts marriage proposal from King Mswati III of Eswatini in a traditional wedding. This happened at outing ceremonies known as the Reed Dance, in which Nomcebo was among many women and young girls performing for the king.
Nomcebo 21 years old performed at the event as the ‘Liphovela’, meaning royal fiancée or concubine, and is to become King Mswati III’s 16th wife. King of Eswatini, the continent’s last absolute monarch is Mswati who is currently 56 years old, he ascended to the throne in 1986 at the age of 18. Needless to say, his reign has elicited criticism due to his lavish lifestyle, much as most people in the country are jobless, or earn very little.
Umhlanga also known as Reed Dance is a dance of young Swazi women and it is considered as cultural rite of passage for Swazi women. With some carrying mock swords and shields in the days long celebration, the young women go about dancing half-naked in brightly colored costumes that reveal their midriffs, they wear anklets and colorful tassels on the costumes. On the occasion of the celebrations held in Ludzidzini Royal Village in Lobamba in 2023, there were about five thousand people. In her 2023 vlog, Swazi influencer Bianca Dlamini-Holman said that the event introduced Eswatini’s “graceful” culture.
It will not be the first time that King Mswati has announced a much younger bride at the Umhlanga. In September 2005 Nkambule Phindile who was 17 years of age was presented as his 13th fiancée at the reed dance after he had noticed her during the main reed dance the previous month. The king has many kids and has been in the news before when his 10th wife, Zena Mahlangu was abducted when preparing for her A-level exams in 2003. Currently, her mother, Lindiwe Ndebele, tried but failed in law when she was seeking the custody of her daughter.
However, in the current year, the King Mswati removed the ban in sexual relationships with girls below the age of eighteen that he actually introduced to fight HIV/AIDS. In 2001 the king set the ban and after only two months he was forced to punish himself by paying a cow because he married a 17-year-old girl as his ninth wife, as pointed out by the BBC.
Swaziland still remains an absolute monarchy; The king rules the country of 1.2 million people by decree, with political parties banned and elected officials only existing in an advisory capacity.
SOURCE: https://dew360.net
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