King Mswati III is reported to be struggling to salvage his marriage to the youngest wife in the palace.
In fact, Jacob Zuma’s daughter Nomcebo, is said to have called it quits in her short-lived marriage to King Mswati III.
Now the monarch is believed to be in panic, doing all he can to have Nomcebo back under his palatial roof.
A royal delegation from Eswatini (Former Swaziland) has reportedly been sent to Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa, to negotiate the return of King Mswati III’s youngest wife, Inkhosikati Nomcebo Zuma.
Montezuma’s Daughter?
The 22 year-old Nomcebo reportedly ditched the monarch and fled from the palace citing dissatisfaction with the King’s polygamous marriage.
Sources from both Eswatini and South Africa claim that Zuma’s daughter chose to leave after she struggled with the king’s absence for extended periods.
Now, under the Eswatini custom, when a wife leaves the man, something known traditionally as ‘Kwemuka,’ the husband’s family engages her relatives to discuss reconciliation.
However, trouble is, the King’s latest marriage was initially kept private until Nomcebo was publicly acknowledged as Mswati III’s Liphovela or girlfriend, during the Umhlanga Reed Dance ceremony of 2024.
Now the youngest queen has taken the Cinderella carriage out of her wedlock.
Efforts by various local and international news outlets, including The Tanzania Times, to contact Nomcebo’s family for comment have been rather unsuccessful.
Even King Mswati’s spokesperson, Percy Simelane, told the Asaase Broadcasting Company (ABC) Radio that he was unaware of the ‘Queen’s’ departure, emphasising that his office only handles the monarch’s public affairs and not his private matters.
Reports indicate the delegation from Eswatini’s palace has faced challenges in Nkandla, with the former South African president Jacob Zuma—Nomcebo’s father—reportedly refusing to meet them.
Jacob Zuma allegedly opposed the marriage initially but later relented due to his daughter’s insistence.
On his part, King Mswati, who has over 14 wives and 50 children, has not publicly commented on the matter.
The situation highlights tensions between modern marital expectations and traditional royal practices in Eswatini’s monarchy.