King of Swaziland wants to make me his (14th) virgin bride... so you must let me stay in the UK: Woman's plea for asylum after fleeing African monarch
- Tintswalo Ngobeni, 22, fled to England from Africa as a teenager
- Caught attentions of King Mswati III - monarch notorious for lavish lifestyle
- Began contacting her at school when she was just 15
- Wants asylum saying she could be arrested or even killed if she returns
By Hannah Ellis-petersen
PUBLISHED: 21:05 GMT, 18 May 2013 | UPDATED: 09:56 GMT, 19 May 2013
Plea: After fleeing the Swazi king, Tintswalo Ngobeni seeks asylum in the UK
A young woman is seeking asylum in Britain after she spurned the advances of the polyamorous King Mswati III of Swaziland and refused to join his harem of 13 wives.
Tintswalo Ngobeni, 22, fled to England from the southern African nation as a teenager after she caught the attention of the millionaire monarch, a notoriously oppressive ruler known for his lavish lifestyle.
As part of Swazi custom, King Mswati III, 45, is permitted to choose a new bride every year.
Miss Ngobeni, who now lives in Birmingham, was just 15 when the King made his advances after seeing her at the palace of his fourth wife, LaNgangaza. She said she was ‘terrified’ when she learned of his marriage intentions.
She added: ‘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 I didn’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.'
Miss Ngobeni was forced to abandon a comfortable lifestyle in a private boarding school as her aunt, who was her chief guardian, arranged the escape to England to join her mother, who moved to Birmingham five years earlier, fleeing an abusive husband.
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Culture: The Reed Dance ceremony, pictured, is known as Umhlanga and sees thousands of Swaziland's 'prettiest virgins' dance topless for King Mswati III, every August, hoping to be his next wife.
Fears: Miss Ngobeni believes she could be arrested or even killed if she has to return to Swaziland
‘I didn’t have a choice,’ she said. ‘Nobody has ever turned down the king or dares to disobey him, so I just disappeared.’
Since her arrival in England, Miss Ngobeni has become a vocal opponent of the oppressive Swazi regime, where political opposition parties are banned and activists routinely arrested or assaulted.
Amorous: As part of Swazi custom, King Mswati II, 45, is permitted to choose a new bride every year
However, Miss Ngobeni’s high-profile activities, including weekly protests outside the Swazi embassy in London with activist group Swazi Vigil, have caught the attention of the authorities in her home country and she now believes she is in more danger than ever.
She said: ‘Recently I had news that people had been sent from Swaziland to come and get me, which really scares me. If I went back, I would be arrested or much worse as there are people there who are tortured, beaten up or killed for being politically active.’
Miss Ngobeni now lives in fear of having to return to Swaziland, after her first plea for political asylum in England in 2007 was denied in 2011.
Last month, she was arrested and taken to an immigration detention centre after 18 months of reporting weekly to the authorities.
However, after pressure from the TUC and the office of Roger Godsiff, Labour MP for Birmingham, Miss Ngobeni was released and has now been granted an appeal by the Home Office.
Mr Godsiff said yesterday: ‘We were very pleased solicitors were successful in achieving a judicial review into Miss Ngobeni’s case.’
The father of 27 children, King Mswati III was a guest at the William and Kate wedding as well as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations last summer.
The king’s sixth wife escaped from the royal harem last year, citing years of ‘emotional and physical abuse’ by her husband.
A spokesman from the Home Office refused to comment.
不願嫁國王
史瓦濟蘭準王妃落跑求英庇護
自由時報 – 2013年5月20日 上午6:15〔編譯陳成良／綜合報導〕我國非洲邦交國史瓦濟蘭一名少女，由於不想被擁有十三個妃子的國王恩史瓦帝三世（Mswati III）納入後宮做妃嬪，逃亡英國尋求庇護，堅拒當他的第十四個嫩妻。
15歲就被國王相中 擬納為第14妃
英國每日郵報十九日報導，二十二歲的恩科比尼（Tintswalo Ngobeni）十五歲時被國王看上，當她得知國王有娶她的意圖時，大驚失色，不得不從南非逃往英國。恩科比尼說：「他開始打電話給我，問我要不要加入王室，我只能沉默，我不要把一生都奉獻給國王。」 「他的後宮就像是王室的囚鳥，隨扈不離身，除非國王允許，不能去任何地方。只有每年可去美國購物一次，國王買單。」
史瓦濟蘭沒有反對黨，改革派人士通常難逃被捕的命運，逃到英國後的恩科比尼成為反對史國專制政權的代表，加上她每週在史國駐英大使館外抗議，這些高調行徑讓她受到史國當局注意，也讓她的處境更惡化，她聽到消息史國當局已派人要抓她回去。她說：「如果我回去了，我怕我會像其他人那樣被虐待拷打，甚至因為政治原因被殺害。」恩科比尼二○○七年首度向英國尋求政治庇護，二○一一年被駁回。上個月，她遭逮捕並被送到一處移民拘留所，後來在英國總工會及工黨國會議員施壓下才得以獲釋，目前英國內政部提供她上訴機會。
史帝三世自一九八六年掌權迄今，他的父親一共有九十九個太太，大約兩百五十名子女，而恩史瓦帝三世同樣繼承這項傳統。他每年在蘆葦節活動慶典上，從成千上萬袒胸露乳的處女中挑選妃子，目前擁有十三個妻子，以及至少二十七個孩子。
第12妃外遇被捕 第6妃不堪虐待出宮
前年八月，恩史瓦帝的第十二任嫩妻杜貝，因趁國王在台灣進行國是訪問時，與已婚情人、史國司法部長杜米索共赴飯店幽會，遭警方逮捕，據傳杜貝目前被軟禁在宮中。恩史瓦帝三世的第六任老婆去年也逃離王宮，原因是不堪王夫「感情與身體的虐待」。
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2326680/King-Swaziland-wants-make-14th-virgin-bride--let-stay-UK-Womans-plea-asylum-fleeing-African-monarch.html
每日郵報，英國網友的評論都很無同情心，認為她只是想炒作知名度，因為很多想移民留在英國的人總是會編出千奇百怪的理由。
老娘覺得啦，若真的不想嫁那個國王，有需要這麼大張旗鼓還要求政治庇護嗎？有個很簡單的方法，就找一個男人做一次，破處以後就不是處女了，國王也就不會逼妳嫁給他啦！
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