The Father of 102 Children of 12 Wives Finally Throws in the towel – Chicago Tribune

A Ugandan man with 102 children plans to stop having children.

Musa Hasiya Kasira, 68, told AFP she could not remember the names of most of her children, who range in age from 10 to 50, let alone her 578 grandchildren.

“With my poor health and only two acres of land for such a large family,” the unemployed father said, “two of my wives left because I couldn’t afford the basics like food, education, and clothes.”

According to Agence France-Presse, Hasahiya fathered his children with the help of 12 wives. In her youth, her success in the cattle business reportedly caused the parents to offer their daughter to her. Polygamy is legal in this religiously diverse East African country. Hasahiya says his family encouraged him to keep his surname alive because he only had one brother.

“At first it was a joke…but now this has its problems,” he said.

Her offspring were reportedly distributed between her ramshackle house and dozens of mud huts in the village of Bugiza, with a population of 4,000, in the eastern part of the country.

“I don’t expect to have more children because I learned from my irresponsible behavior that I have too many children to take care of,” Hasahiya said.

He claims that all of his women now take contraceptives. His third wife, Zabina, told AFP she did not know Lehsahiya had other wives when they did. She says she feeds her children twice “on a good day.”

Hasahiya credits his wives, whose names he does not always remember, with helping him “acquaint” his offspring. The family reportedly meets once a month to address grievances.

Despite his troubles, Hasahiya’s family does not cause any problems, according to a local official who said the prolific father “raised his children very well”.

Translated by Jose Luis Sanchez Pando / TCA