JOHANNESBURG – South African President Jacob Zuma will marry his fourth wife next weekend, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Zuma will tie the knot at his family homestead in Nkandla in the KwaZulu-Natal province, according to the Sunday Times.
“The president is to formalize his relationship with his fiancée, Ms Bongi Ngema, next week at a private traditional ceremony in Nkandla,” presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj told the newspaper.
Zuma, a known polygamist, currently has three wives. He divorced Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa’s candidate for the African Union top post, in 1998. Another wife, Kate, committed suicide in 2000.
The president, who turned 70 last Thursday, is believed to have fathered around 20 children.
Ngema has a three-year-old son with Zuma. She has various academic qualifications, including a business degree. She accompanied Zuma on a state visit to the G20 summit in South Korea last year.
Zuma’s adventures with women have often sparked controversy. In 2006 he was acquitted of rape charges after having consensual sex with an HIV-positive activist and family friend. He famously told the court he had taken a shower to protect himself against infection.
In 2009 he fathered a child with the daughter of 2010 World Cup local chief Irvin Khoza on the eve of the global event.
Asked at his birthday party Friday if he was done with marriage, Zuma replied “I think so.”