from our Lusaka correspondent in Uganda.
A 67-year-old farmer with 102 children and 568 grandchildren from 12 wives has decided to hesitantly stop producing more children because he is not able to singlehandedly take care of them due to failing health and low income.
Musa Hasahya is a resident of a place called Lusaka in Uganda’s capital Kampala.
He has instructed his wives to start using contraceptives to prevent them from getting pregnant and adding up to the unsustainably huge family size.
“My income has become lower and lower over the years due to the rising cost of living and my family has become bigger and bigger,” he lamented in an interview with The Sun.
“I’m not having any more children. I’ve seen the bad financial situation and am now taking the birth control pill.”
Interestingly, despite the unbearable consequences of his polygamous lifestyle which are weighing him down, Hasahya has no regret and would not advocate against marrying many women.
Another interesting side of his story is that he has managed to keep all his wives in the same house to enable constant monitoring and avoid them being snatched by other men.
“All my wives live together in the same house.
“It’s easy for me to monitor them and also stop them eloping with other men in this village,” Hasahya is quoted to have revealed.
Zulaika, one of Hasahya’s wives who has 11 children bemoaned how they have had to endure severe hardship because of the size of their family and incommensurate income.
Polygamy is legally recognized in Uganda, and the use of contraceptives is reportedly seen as a sign of promiscuity, but under the circumstances, she has no option but to adopt it.
It is again reported that most of Hasahya’s numerous children aged between six and 51, live with him on his farm which serves as their place of abode.
Some of his wives are young women, and his eldest child is reported to be 21 years older than his youngest wife.
