Mzee Musa Hasahya, a 67-year-old Ugandan farmer, is one of the most prolific polygamists in history, with 12 wives, 102 children, and a whopping 568 grandchildren to his name.

Even by the standards of his home village of Lusaka, where polygamy is legal, Mzee Musa Hasahya’s family is considered gigantic. Despite growing up in abject poverty, he managed to rise above his condition, accumulating enough wealth and prestige to be appointed village chairperson for several decades and to ensure that whenever he approached a family about marrying their daughter, they always agreed. Hasahya married his first wife in 1971, at age 16, and then kept taking new wives until he reached 12. Because his father only produced two children, which threatened to render his clan extinct, the Ugandan farmer took it upon himself to ensure that his bloodline endured, producing over 100 children.

Photo: Henry Wasswa/Avalon

“My late father, Mwamadi Mudumba, had two wives but only produced two children. This risked the extinction of our family and clan,” Mzee Musa Hasahya told the Ugandan Monitor last month, declaring his happiness that his children and grandchildren would be expanding the clan further.

About a third of Hasahya’s children live with him and his wives in the family home, with the rest having moved away and started families of their own. Even if claims to be able to tell which of his children belongs to which wife, the 67-year-old farmer admits that he doesn’t know all of the children in his home by name.

“How can a man be satisfied with one woman? That is a sign of being born a man but with female hormones,” Hasahya says laughingly. “All my wives cook the same way and live together in the same house. It’s easy for me to monitor them and also stop them from eloping with other men in this village.”

Interestingly, Mzee’s oldest child is 21 years older than his youngest wife, 28-year-old Zabina, who claims that despite being 67 years old, her husband has the energy of a 25-year-old man. He takes care of all his wives, spends time with each of them, and never cheats on them.

Despite all the words of praise from his family, Mzee Musa Hasahya admits that not all is perfect in his enormous family. The rising cost of living has made it harder and harder for him to provide everyone with everything they need, and that has caused half of his wife to leave him. He currently has only six of his original twelve wives leaving with him.

“He had money but four years ago, his cattle business collapsed and women started leaving one by one until they remained six,” Bumaru Hifunde, one of Hasahya’s eldest sons, said.

It was because of these financial problems that Hasahya notified his remaining wives that they needed to use contraceptives to ensure that they don’t become pregnant anymore, as any new mouth to feed would be a serious burden on the farmer.

“I’m not having any more children. I’ve seen the bad financial situation and am now taking the birth control pill,” one of the man’s wives said.

Perhaps Hasahya’s decision is for the best, after all, he already has 102 children and 568 grandchildren. How many heirs does one man really need?