Senteni
Masango, the eighth wife of King Mswati III of Swaziland, has allegedly
committed suicide after taking an overdose of a pain relief medicine.
Her
lifeless body was said to have been found in the room.
“The
king’s wife is believed to have overdosed on about 40 amitriptyline capsules –
widely used to block the long-term (chronic) pain of some rheumatic conditions
and treat depression and related disorders,” online publication News24 reported.
She
was buried on Sunday morning.
King
Mswati III got married to the deceased in September 1990 when she was
just 18 years old.
Last
year, King Mswati III married his latest bride, Siphelele Mashwama, who was
aged 19 years.
It
is a tradition for the Swazi King to choose a wife every year.
In
Swaziland, tens of thousands of unmarried and childless girls and women travel
from the various chiefdoms to participate in the eight-day event during which
the king selects a new bride, and would-be brides are publicly checked to
ascertain their virginity.
King
Mswati III was crowned in 1986 at the age of 18, succeeding his long-serving
father King Sobhuza II, who died at the age of 82.
The
king, now aged 50, is known as Ngweyama the lion.
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