Polygamy in Kenya

Photo: Akuku and part of member of his family

There are relatively many reports on Kenyan polygamy stories.

I am not sure if Kenya is among the top countries in polygamy in the world or is just the matter of interest to the most reporters.

Probably most attraction came from this extraordinary Kenyan patriarch, Ancentus Akuku (91), also known as "Danger", who lives in Homa Bay on the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya. He belongs to the Luo ethnic group, which permits polygamy. Akuku has married 130 women in 65 years, probably hold the Kenyan record for number of wives married, he also holds the record in divorces, as he divorced 85 wives over those years.

He has more than 160 children!

The family has built a school and a church for itself.
To sustain his marriage bond he said that "dictatorship and hard work" is required to make a polygamous family happy and productive. He said he was happy because "I have doctors, lawyers, teachers and pilots in my home. This is my greatest achievement, my source of joy,"

There are many reasons people justify polygamy, another kenyan but monogamous guy expressed his feeling for polygamy who confessed that he has only one wife: “Mimi namke mmoja. Lakini kwa mke mmoja ananifinya kwa sababu pengine hata anaweza kunifanya niwe na stress kila wakati. Saa ingine sasa kama nakuta amekasirika, inanilazimu hata mimi pia nikasirike. Sasa kutoka kazini nikimsalimia, yeye mwenyewe hajibu kwa hasira. Kama ningekuwa na bibi wengi, mimi mwenyewe hatungeweza kujibiana, ningehama hapo kwake pole pole niende hiyo nyumba nyingine. Hasira yake ikiisha, nirudi, hatungekuwa na shida.”

However, polygamy cannot be the answer to marital problems because leaving one wife’s house to go to the other’s does not mean that the problem with the first wife will solve itself.

In 2002, Sudan's President Omar Hassan al Bashir has urged Sudanese men to take more than one wife in order to double the country's population of 30 million ... 'We should achieve this aim by having many wives,' Bashir said." In other words, a man who hoards wives isn't selfish, he's patriotic!

Mambo mengi, naishia hapa. Nawatakia alhamisi njema!