South African president formally weds 3rd concurrent wife in traditional Zulu ceremony

Zuma formally weds 3rd wife in Zulu ceremony

NKANDLA, South Africa — South Africa’s president has formalized his marriage to a third wife in a traditional ceremony.

Some 2,000 guests came to rural KwaZulu-Natal province to watch Monday’s ceremony in which President Jacob Zuma and Tobeka Madiba took part.

The ceremony included an hour-long traditional Zulu wedding dance. The president’s office did not invite media outlets to the wedding and asked for privacy.

Madiba attended Zuma’s inauguration ceremony in May. The president also has two other wives and 19 children.

Zuma’s embrace of Zulu tradition — including polygamy — has endeared him to many South Africans. Still, many younger people consider polygamy old-fashioned and expensive, and question how it can endure in a modern country.