Umtata came to a standstill on Thursday afternoon when the Zulu royal house motorcade paraded through the streets ahead of a celebrity wedding that will see the royal Zulu and Nelson Mandela’s Thembu houses united.
King Goodwill Zwelithini and his three wives arrived in the Eastern Cape to witness his first daughter Princess Nandi (25) walking down the aisle to marry Thembu Prince Mfundo ”Bhovu lengwe” Mtirara (32) the great-grand nephew of former president Mandela.
The couple will tie the knot at the St Johns Anglican Cathedral on Friday followed by a traditional wedding at the Great Place near Qunu on Saturday.
The groom is scheduled to arrive at the church at 10.30am, accompanied by a convoy of the Thembu warriors.
Shortly afterwards he will be joined by his bride, who is expected to arrive in an elegant style.
Thembu royal house representative Vuyisa Ngxishe said they had already paid a lobala of 114 cattle and two horses with their full regalia last December.
The event is expected to draw the attention of a number of distinguished guests including President Thabo Mbeki, Mandela, and Home Affairs Minister and Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Insiders thought the wedding would help to revive the history of traditional royal blood marriages in the country. Prince Mtirara has been recently crowned as the Matye’ngqina traditional authority chief.
He is the first of the four Chief Zondwa’s sons who was the former Transkei Defence Force army general.
He is qualified building contractor and his wife to be is a graduate involved in social responsibility programmes. – Sapa