Mustafa Mugambo Mutone, a resident of Kyaterekera in Kagadi district in Uganda, where he serves as a village head, says he married his first wife in 1968 at the age of 16.
In the years since that time, Mutone has gone on to marry at least a dozen more wives and father 174 children, according to Ugandan newspaper New Vision.
“My youngest wife is 25 and the eldest is 50, but I had about 10 girlfriends before I married officially and they all delivered the same year,” Mutone said.
Mutone says his first-born child is already 49 years old, while a set of 4-year-old twins are the youngest.
Six of his wives are currently pregnant, which could very well bring the number of his children to 180.
The 65-year-old businessman runs a wholesale produce shop at the Kyaterekera trading center, where he sells beans, maize, and coffee.
Mutone says it has not been easy fending for his large family, though: “I have tried to feed my 13 wives and over 170 children, and it is not easy. I request the government to at least sponsor 30 of my children in secondary schools and tertiary institutions.”
About 40 of Mutone’s children are currently of primary school age, and he says with the help of his older children, he plans to establish a private nursery and primary school in his district to cater for their education.
With more than 90 grandchildren, Mutone says he manages to keep track of every child born to him by recording their birth in a special book.
Mutone cites distance as another challenge he has since some of his wives are scattered in far off places around the country. A few of them, according to him, are even based in neighboring countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.
“I receive 10 calls every day from different wives who want attention, but I cannot be everywhere. I have seven wives in Kagadi alone,” Mutone says.
Mutone believes that despite the fact that he is close to his 70s, he can go on to have several more children because he leads a healthful lifestyle and does not drink alcohol or smoke.
by Mark Babatunde
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