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Swazi king: Fiancé's mother 'used'
MBABANE, Swaziland (CNN) -- Swaziland's king says the mother of his latest fiancé was "used" in her efforts to prevent their engagement. King Mswati III says his 18-year-old fiancé, Zena Mahlangu, was not abducted as her mother claimed. Instead, the king says, Zena's mother was poorly advised by opponents of the monarchy "trying to undermine our culture." "She got sympathy from various people, who perhaps for their own reasons, they just took the whole issue and said, 'Aha! There is something we can use to destroy our tradition and culture,'" the king told CNN. King Mswati, Africa's last absolute monarch, recently chose Zena as his 10th wife. She made her appearance as the king's fiancé at an outing last weekend with her future husband and four of his nine wives. Zena's mother, Lindiwe Dlamini, had asked a court to return her daughter after she was allegedly abducted from school by palace aids without Dlamini's consent. But after an official engagement ceremony last weekend, Dlamini postponed her lawsuit indefinitely on Tuesday. "Over the weekend, she was allowed to have a telephone conversation with her daughter for the first time since her daughter was taken away from her," Dlamini's lawyer Lucas Maziya told CNN. "She got the distinct impression from what the daughter said that certainly she had resigned herself to her fate." The king insists there was no abduction, and the country's attorney general, Phesheya Dlamini, told CNN the king and Zena has "a long-standing relationship." The king refused to comment on the length of his relationship with Zena but said the palace was in contact with her mother and that "there are no problems." Lindiwe Dlamini was absent during Tuesday's court hearing. On the issue of taking more wives in the future, King Mswati said: "Well, I've not decided whether I will continue to take any more or not. But I'm sure when the time comes, I will think about it." Dlamini's lawsuit was backed by opposition parties, trade unions and human rights groups, who say the practice of "abducting" future wives for the king violates human rights. "We feel this is abusing culture," says Ntombi Nkosi from PUDEMO, the Opposition Party Women's League. "It confirms that women are treated as minors and women have no rights in this country." But the king defended his actions: "Those who do not understand our culture need to be educated until they understand. There is nothing strange about having a new bride." Some think the unprecedented challenge to the Swazi monarchy will quietly fade away, with the king's 10th bride firmly in place. Others are still hoping that it will still be the test case they have wished for -- to balance tradition and human rights in the modern world. -- CNN Johannesburg Bureau Chief Charlayne Hunter-Gault contributed to this report
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