The rising cost of living has broken the backs of many, but it has made some of them wiser. One of them is Musa Hasahya (Moses Hasahaya), a farmer from Uganda. Musa had 12 wives, 102 children, and 568 grandchildren. After taking forward such a big family, the 67-year-old has said that he no longer wants to grow a family. For this reason, his wives are considering taking birth control pills.The 67-year-old farmer has now advised his wives of childbearing age to go on the pill.
Polygamy is legal in Uganda where Musa lives. Musa and his extra-large brood stay in a compound with a 12-bedroom house in Bugisa.
He married his first wife Hanifa in 1971 at the age of 16 after quitting school, and he became a dad for the first time two years later when she gave birth to a daughter. Musa married more women as he earned well back in the day.
Currently, Hasahya, is feeling the bite of rising cost of living in Bugisa, Uganda, where he lives with his large family.
“I cannot tolerate bearing children any more because of the limited resources. And on that note I have advised all my wives of childbearing age to go for family planning. I also discourage those who wish to marry more than four wives not to do so because things are not good,” he said.
He added, “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.”
As the village chairperson and a businessman, he says he decided to add to his family as he had the money and the land.
“Because I was able to earn something, I decided to expand my family by marrying more women,” he said.
I ensured that hoes are provided for each of them to till the land and produce food enough to support the family since the soils are fertile.”
However, he is now asking the government for help, saying he is struggling to educate all his children.
But despite his enormous brood, his family say they generally all get on well.
He says while he can tell his children and grandchildren apart, he does not know them all by name.
Strangely enough, Musa’s eldest child is 21 years older than his youngest stepmother. One-third of Moses’ children are between the ages of 6 and 51. All of them live with Musa on the farm.
Discussion about this post