A UK asylum seeker, 22 year old Tintswalo Ngobeni claimed asylum with the British government on the basis that King Mswati 111 wanted to make her one of his wives when she was aged 15.
King Mswati who already has 13 wives and 27 children and is claimed to have made sexual overtures towards Ngobeni is a regular special guest of the same UK government and recently attended the wedding of Prince William and Kate as well as the Queen`s Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Birmingham based Ngobeni said: ‘He started calling me at boarding school. He would ask me if I wanted to be a part of the royal family. I had to keep quiet about my fears but I knew Ididn’t want to get married to him and have a life devoted to the king.
‘His wives are kept in their palace, surrounded by bodyguards, and they can’t really go anywhere unless the king says so. The only thing they do is go to America once a year, as the king gives them a shopping allowance,’ she added.
According to Swazi culture the Swazi King is allowed to have as many wives as he wishes. The King chooses his wife at a traditional ceremony where women dance naked with their upper bodies exposed. Those who take part in this procession do so with the full knowledge and hope of becoming one of the Kings wives.
Ngobeni said she was just 15 when she met the King at the palace of his fourth wife La Ngangaza and he made his love intentions known to her.
Ngobeni claimed asylum in 2007 and her case was denied in 2007. She now lives in fear of going back to Swaziland.
Ngobeni is now an active opponent of the Swazi regime and takes part in weekly protests outside the Swazi Embassy with an activist group Swazi Vigil.
Recent media reports highlight that the King’s sixth wife fled from her palace following domestic abuse from her husband King Mswati the third.
Birmingham based Ngobeni said: ‘He started calling me at boarding school. He would ask me if I wanted to be a part of the royal family. I had to keep quiet about my fears but I knew Ididn’t want to get married to him and have a life devoted to the king.
‘His wives are kept in their palace, surrounded by bodyguards, and they can’t really go anywhere unless the king says so. The only thing they do is go to America once a year, as the king gives them a shopping allowance,’ she added.
According to Swazi culture the Swazi King is allowed to have as many wives as he wishes. The King chooses his wife at a traditional ceremony where women dance naked with their upper bodies exposed. Those who take part in this procession do so with the full knowledge and hope of becoming one of the Kings wives.
Ngobeni said she was just 15 when she met the King at the palace of his fourth wife La Ngangaza and he made his love intentions known to her.
Ngobeni claimed asylum in 2007 and her case was denied in 2007. She now lives in fear of going back to Swaziland.
Ngobeni is now an active opponent of the Swazi regime and takes part in weekly protests outside the Swazi Embassy with an activist group Swazi Vigil.
Recent media reports highlight that the King’s sixth wife fled from her palace following domestic abuse from her husband King Mswati the third.
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