Audio By Carbonatix
South Africa's President Jacob Zuma will marry for the sixth time next weekend, making long-term fiancee Gloria Bongi Ngema his fourth current wife, his spokesman says.
Mr Zuma is a Zulu traditionalist, and polygamy is legal in South Africa.
His spokesman, Mac Maharaj, said the private ceremony would take place in Nkandla in KwaZulu Natal province.
Mr Zuma usually takes one wife with him on official events, on a rotating basis.
The marriage will be his sixth, but he is divorced from one wife and another took her own life in 2000.
The BBC's Southern Africa correspondent, Karen Allen, says Ms Ngema - a businesswoman from Durban - is already a familiar figure at the president's side.
Mr Zuma, who became president in 2009, recently celebrated his 70th birthday and has 21 children.
A statement on the president's website said there would be no cost to the government for next weekend's ceremony, nor did the state pay for the maintenance of the four spouses' households.
Mr Zuma was acquitted of rape charges in 2006, though he admitted having unprotected sex with the woman, who was HIV-positive, showering afterwards in the belief that this would reduce the chance of infection.
In 2009 he fathered a child out of wedlock with the daughter of a senior football official.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Mercy Johnson faces backlash over $18.24 menstrual kit
21 minutes -
EU plans to fine Google high triple-digit million euro sum, Handelsblatt reports
30 minutes -
Senegal’s Faye names economist Lo as new prime minister
39 minutes -
Landslide at Angola illegal gold mine kills 28
50 minutes -
The Draft NITA Bill should be shredded
56 minutes -
Eni and partners approve new development phase for Ivory Coast project
59 minutes -
Govt signals tougher scrutiny before renewing Gold Fields’ Tarkwa lease, Reuters report
1 hour -
Africa must build strong systems to achieve sporting success — Herbert Mensah
1 hour -
Gunmen abduct 25 people in twin attacks in Nigeria’s Kwara state, police say
1 hour -
Ebola patients flee in attacks on Congo health facilities, hobbling response
2 hours -
What Is Wrong with Us: Why we keep uprooting young trees because they have not yet become forests
2 hours -
Senegal’s parliament speaker quits two days after prime minister sacked
2 hours -
WHO chief says fast-moving Ebola epidemic is outpacing response efforts
2 hours -
Rubio says Strait of Hormuz has to be open ‘one way or the other’Â
2 hours -
Cocoa farmers, patients and consumers paying price for governance failures – CDM
2 hours