Zuma's wedding to Bongi - PHOTOS
South Africa’s polygamous President Jacob Zuma on Saturday celebrated his sixth wedding in a second day of weekend festivities filled with traditional Zulu culture.
The 70-year-old formalised his relationship with long-time fiance Bongi Ngema on Friday with Zulu song and dance while dressed in leopard skins and carrying a shield surrounded by men in similar warrior attire.
The businesswoman became Zuma’s fourth wife in Nkandla, deep in the KwaZulu-Natal countryside, where on Saturday she handed presents to Zuma’s family at his homestead in a gift ceremony.
Friday afternoon’s tying of the knot was followed by a glitzy western-style evening reception with a tiered cake where the couple donned formal wear in a marquee erected on the grounds of a local school.
The couple have a seven-year-old son and Ngema joins Zuma’s three other wives to become one of four first ladies with all spouses attending the marriage.
The wedding is his third in just over four years and the second since coming to power in 2009 as the country’s first president with multiple wives.
In all, he has married six times and has 21 children. One of his wives has died, and another — home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma — divorced him.
The wives have no specific roles or responsibilities but their benefits include travel and secretaries and they are expected to support the president at state and official functions, with Ngema accompanying him to France last year.
With debate over his growing family after news of the nuptials broke last weekend, Zuma’s office has said he would foot the wedding bill and that Ngema was already part of the president’s spousal budget.
This comes after the state had to nearly double the spousal budget to more than two million dollars after he took office with his large family.
While legally recognised, polygamy is becoming less popular in South Africa where modernity and Western lifestyles have taken root.
A survey in 2010 found that nearly three-fourths of South Africans disapprove of polygamy. Among women, 83 percent disapproved.
Comments
tlebebe
Scary to know that the stae had to nearly double the spousal butget to more than TWO MILLION DOLLARS, i wonder what was wrong with our ZAR.pretty lady with a nice smile though,you also looked good JZ, why ekare o ne a dirile botox your look so smooth.Tshadi
long live Mr President,,,Sonono Khoza is waitingmmpule
hau hau hau safa yiTax.....dzira
Marrying is probably like getting a tender to those ladies... The interest is not the project itself but the package it comes with it... YHA NEH!!!!notagain2012
unbelievable, there goes our tax money, what next???TheGenius
@notagain2012If all other people could think like you, we can surely save this country! For the record, I am not against polygamy - I am married to two lovely wives myself - but I am footing all the bill. They have no secretaries. Well, they do accompany me sometimes on a flight to Cape Town BUT I pay. Now, it is clear, if this man comes back after 2013, he certainly going to marry again!
TheGenius
dziraMarrying is probably like getting a tender to those ladies... The interest is not the project itself but the package it comes with it... YHA NEH!!!!
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Your comments sounds like you have a postgraduade degree, a Master's nogal. If not, not you studied legal subjects. I reread you entry at least three times and I did not find it wanting. Good comment Dzira. Yeah, you better say it again. "... the interest is not the project itself but the package it comes with it..." and to add to that "...the project is also not aware that the interest is not in it, it sheepishly believes it charming.... by even marrying the hasbeens."
pierre2012
With all these children and wives, does he really get enough time to address the socio-economic and political challenges of such a vast country? Does he have enough time to read and think of crucial reports, strategies, plans, ettc? I doubt!!!!Papane
Mr President as much as u have so many wifes, i guess u will not have a problem if someone marries three of your daughters. How about that one?Phuntjo
mxm, nna Zuma wang nyenyisa! as wel as all his wives, damn gold diggers!! i dont know how a person is able to be comfy with a husband who has many wives. tym to get off the throne mr president. wang bora stru!Read all 27 comments