One of the 13 wives of Swaziland's
polygamous king has left the royal household after claiming he subjected
her to physical and emotional abuse, it was claimed yesterday.
Angela
'LaGija' Dlamini, the sixth wife of King Mswati III, 44, reportedly
abandoned her palace on Saturday after telling relatives she had endured
years of suffering.
Pro-democracy
campaigners claimed the move followed a period of extended difficulty
between Mrs Dlamini and her husband, who is Africa's last remaining
absolute monarch and has 13 current wives.
In
a statement the Swaziland Solidarity Network said: 'In what will not
come as a shock, King Mswati's sixth wife, Angela 'Lagija' Dlamini, has
left the Swazi royal harem for good.
'She
left the royal household last night, citing many years of emotional and
physical abuse by her husband as the reason for her departure.'
The
South Africa-based organisation, which campaigns for democracy in
Swaziland, quote an unnamed member of the royal family's security team
who claimed Ms Dlamini was now staying with relatives after fleeing her
husband.
The statement
continued: 'A royal guard revealed that Angela had been unhappy for a
long time and had actually thought of leaving her husband for many
years.
'She finally packed her bags for good last night, initially pretending to be visiting her parental home in Hhohho.
'From there she disappeared and is believed to be with relatives.'
The
alleged departure of Mrs Dlamini, who has a nine-year-old child with
her husband, makes her the second of King Mswati's wives to leave the
troubled royal household in recent months.
Last
November it emerged that the polygamous leader had kicked his twelfth
wife Nothando Dube, 23, out of her palace following claims she had
cheated on him with a member of his government.
Royal harem: Some of the king's 13 wives, pictured during Easter celebrations at Swaziland's national stadium
Mrs Dube later claimed her husband
had held her as a prisoner for more than a year after she was allegedly
caught in bed in August 2010 with his close friend Ndumiso Mamba,
Swaziland's then justice minister who was sacked over the scandal.
South
Africa's Times newspaper today reported that Mrs Dlamini has now become
the third of the monarch's wives to walk out on him following claims of
abuse.
The newspaper claimed former wife Delisa Magwaza, 30, was the first to leave and made her way to London via Cape Town.
She
was reportedly followed by a second fleeing spouse Putsoana Hwala, 30,
whom the newspaper reported left behind her three children.
King
Mswati's alleged marital troubles come amid continuing difficulties for
the monarch, who has been heavily criticised for his autocratic
leadership of Swaziland.
Chanzo: Gazeti la Daily Mail
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