20100104
ALLAFRICA

Johannesburg — THE family of Gloria Bongi Ngema -- President Jacob Zuma 's latest fiancee -- will today be closely following his nuptials, set for Nkandla in rural KwaZulu- Natal.

Zuma has already begun traditional processes ahead of what is expected to be another marriage. But today it will be the turn of Thobeka Mabhija, with whom Zuma has three children.

SA's political elite will throng to the Zuma homestead at Nkandla for what is expected to be a lavish traditional wedding. Busloads of neighbours are also due to feast on cows, goats and sheep, slaughtered for the ceremony.

The Presidency issued a statement yesterday describing Zuma's wedding as a "personal matter", and calling on the media to respect his privacy.

Mabhija will officially become Zuma's third wife, joining first wife Sizakele Khumalo, and Nompumelelo Ntuli, whom he married at another traditional wedding at Nkandla in 2007.

Zuma was also married to Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma but they divorced in 1988. Another wife, Kate Mantsho, committed suicide in 2000.

The wedding bells have left political analysts marvelling at Zuma's chutzpah in taking more wives when his traditional lifestyle was among the reasons why his Presidency was initially viewed with trepidation.

But the script has certainly not panned out as expected, since Zuma, in office for eight months, has so far won over critics of his suitability for high office. In November last year, his approval rating was 58%, up from 53% in September, according to a study by TNS Research Surveys.

Zuma's status as a polygamist has become a minor factor barely worthy of mention since he faced the crowds on the south lawns to introduce MaKhumalo at his inauguration in April.

That act, showing Zuma is unashamed of acknowledging his roots, seems to have cured most of the scepticism.

Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula spoke for many in August last year, during a dinner organised by the Progressive Women's Movement, when she thanked Zuma for honouring his unglamorous first wife.

Early speculation over which of the current three wives would be the "real" first lady has since disappeared, along with doubt over how his siz able household would live together at Mahlamba Ndlopfu, his official residence.

Steven Friedman, head of the Centre for the Study of Democracy, says there may also be a conscious attempt by some sections of the press to avoid the impression of prejudice against Zuma's lifestyle.

Zuma's brood, which totals about 18, has also not escaped the spotlight. Who can forget Duduzile Zuma's (daughter of Kate Zuma) defence of her father during the messy rape trial in 2006? Her antics, which included a lavish 27th birthday party, initially had her pegged as just another spoilt brat.

However, since Zuma's inauguration she seems to have undergone a metamorphosis. Gone is the wild child. What we see now are her efforts through the Duduzile Zuma foundation to focus on social and health issues. Teaching young people about the impact of suicide on families has been her big campaign.

The wedding of Zuma and Dlamini-Zuma's daughter, Gugulethu, an actress in the popular soap Isidingo, to Welshman Ncube, an opposition leader in Zimbabwe, caught media attention but not for the usual reason. It served as a symbolic unifier between Zimbabwe and SA's political elite at a time when hope was pinned on Zuma breaking the political impasse in Harare.

Zuma's private life challenges the traditional strictures of protocol, but resonates with the black working class. While he has taken MaKhumalo and MaNtuli on his official trips abroad, it is unknown if either of them has occupied the spousal office at the Union Buildings.

It is unclear whether Zuma's wives have gone for official training, a requirement for South African representatives abroad. But their interaction on the international stage, with the likes of US First Lady Michelle Obama and France's Carla Bruni- Sarkozy, suggests that they have been put through their paces.

Friedman says voters in SA do not make their decisions on the basis of politicians' personal lives. "Whatever else might be wrong with our system, South African voters are very good at ignoring this kind of thing," he says. Former presidents FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela remained popular despite their divorces, he adds.

Chances are that another wedding is unlikely to dent Zuma's popularity.

"If a politician is doing well, people tend to ignore those things they don't like; if he's doing badly, then everything about them is a problem," says Friedman.