Polygamist Leaves 100 Widows

Kenya's most prominent polygamist mourned by many, many, many
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 5, 2010 6:10 AM CDT

Kenya's most famous polygamist has died, leaving behind enough grieving widows and children to fill a jumbo jet. "Danger" Akuku, believed to have been in his late 90s, married his first wife in 1939 and well over 100 more in the six decades to follow. He fathered around 200 children, so many that he founded two elementary schools to educate them, as well as a church for his family to attend.

Polygamy is legal, and traditional, in Kenya but is much rarer than it used to be. "I had heard of Akuku Danger back in the day when I was a teen, and up to now I still wonder how he did this," a Nairobi businessman tells ABC. "Right now, even if I had a lot of money—'Bill Gates' rich—I wouldn't even go for a second wife. The more the women, the more the headache and stress." (More Kenya stories.)

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