Teen bride takes Aids test
2004-09-05 21:51
Mbabane - Swazi King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch, has picked a 16-year-old girl as his new wife, bringing to 12 the number of official spouses, sources in the royal household said on Sunday.
A source confirmed a report in the Times newspaper that said the teenager was a Miss Teen Swaziland finalist who took part in the annual reed dance last week when bare-breasted young women, who are supposed to be virgins, dance for the king.
"Yes there is one lady that is currently kept at Prestige Guest House and we are not allowed to talk about the particulars of the person," said the source who asked not to be named.
The source said that the 16-year-old girl underwent blood tests to determine whether she was HIV positive and that she was expected to receive the royal blessing of the queen mother before being unveiled as the king's new bride at the weekend.
Swaziland has the world's highest per capita rate of HIV infection at 38.8% in the kingdom of 1.1 million people, according to UN estimates.
Local governor Jim Gama declined to confirm the report.
"If you fall in love, who asks you? So I do not understand why you are asking me about that because even if that is true, it is a personal issue so I have no comment," he said.
Mswati, 36, has 11 official wives, one fiancee and 23 children.
Royal sources told AFP that the king was trying to fill vacancies left by two of his wives who deserted the royal family in June this year after falling out of favour.
One of the royal sources said the king wanted "young beautiful flowers" to brighten up the palace.
Mswati, a polygamist who is know as the "Ngweyama", or lion, has ruled the mountainous kingdom since 1986, when he acceded to the throne at the age of 18.
His father King Sobhuza II led the country to independence from Britain in 1968, and died at the age of 82 in 1982 with no fewer than 70 wives.