/ 30 December 2009

Zuma set to marry fifth wife

President Jacob Zuma was set to marry his fifth wife, a relative said in Nkandla on Tuesday afternoon.

Inkosi Bhekumuzi Zuma said Zuma would tie the knot with Thobeka Madiba next Monday.

He said Zuma’s other fiancé, Gloria Bongi Ngema from Durban, had presented umbondo (gifts) to the Zuma family on Monday. Umbondo is the last Zulu traditional ceremony before the wedding. It is done
after Ilobolo has been paid. It was not known when Zuma would tie the knot with Ngema.

Zuma married Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, his third wife, two years ago during a traditional wedding at his Nkandla home.

Madiba has attended many official events with the president.

The president was legally married to Kate Zuma who died in 2000 and Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Dlamini-Zuma and
the president divorced in 1998.

Zuma’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya refused to comment on the wedding, saying it was a family affair.

Approached for comment during Zuma’s Christmas party in Nkandla on Tuesday, Zuma’s aide Zizi Kodwa also declined to comment. – Sapa