Metro

Ugandan man with 12 wives, 102 children, cries out for help

Published

1 year ago

February 2, 2023

A Ugandan man who has 12 wives, 102 children and 578 grandchildren, has cried out for help as he claims he is struggling to provide for his vast family.

Described as the “Ugandan Father of Nations”, the prolific man, Musa Hasahya Kasera, now feels that “enough is enough” and has vowed to put an end to his procreation.

Hasahya, who is in 68-years-old and currently unemployed, took curious reporters on his journey into his large enclave which has become something of a tourist attraction in his village of Bugisa in Butaleja district, a remote rural area in eastern Uganda, revealing that his wives now take birth control to stop the family expanding further.

“My wives are on contraceptives but I am not. I don’t expect to have more children because I have learnt from my irresponsible act of producing so many children that I can’t look after,” Kasera said.

Kasera said he has so many children that he can’t remember most of their names.

“The challenge is I can only remember the name of my first and the last born but some of the children I can’t recall their names.

“It’s the mothers who help me to identify them.

“At first it was a joke… but now this has become a problem. But with my health failing and merely two acres of land for such a huge family, two of my wives left because I could not afford the basics like food, education, clothing.”

Delving into his journey into having such a large family, Kasera said he started out as a cattle dealer and butcher in the village, his status attracted
many villagers who would offer their daughters’ hand in marriage, even some below the age of 18.

He added that he can’t even recall the names of some of his wives, and has to consult one of his sons, Shaban Magino, a 30-year-old primary school teacher who helps run the family’s affairs and is one of the few to have received an education.

A local official who oversees the Bugisa village, who also spoke to the journalists, said despite the challenges, Kasera has “brought up his children very well” and there had been no cases of theft or fighting for example.

“Many members of Hasahya’s family try to earn money or food by doing chores for their neighbours, or spend their days fetching firewood and water, often travelling long distances on foot,” the official said.

Related Topics:Children Family Featured Uganda

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Metro

All my tough policy decisions are in Nigerians’ interest— Tinubu

Published

4 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has insisted that all his tough policy decisions and reforms have been taken with the interest of Nigerians at heart.

Tinubu, who made the assertion in Hague, The Netherlands, during the business session of the bilateral meeting with the Dutch team led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, insisted that though some of the policies had brought hardship on Nigerian masses, he was not afraid to implement more of such policies as they would yield positive results in the end.

“I am a determined leader of my people. I am ever ready to take tough decisions in the best interest of the people, even if with initial pains,” Tinubu said.

“I have and will continue to take the difficult decisions that will benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain.

“We have gone through the worst of the storms. I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians.

“The Nigerian naira is one of the world’s best-performing currencies today.

“We took the necessary risk, and all resilient Nigerians kept faith with us.

“They will be rewarded, and the reward will only be greater as we partner effectively with you on new opportunities for development.

“As leaders, we must make decisions for the benefit of our nations, and we cannot shy away from that.”

The President also noted that symbiotic economic ties remain the best long-term path to sustainable and mutual prosperity rather than one-sided relationships in which bilateral trade is skewed too much in one direction.

Metro

Nigeria govt cancels 924 dormant mining licences

Published

6 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s minister of mines said on Wednesday that 924 expired mining licences had been cancelled immediately.

The country now wants investors to apply for the affected permits, which will be given out on a “first come, first served” basis.

In a statement, Mines Minister Dele Alake said that 528 exploration licenses, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licenses, and 273 small-scale mining licenses would be impacted.

As part of major changes in the mining industry, more than 1,600 mining titles were taken away in November for not paying the required fees.

Alake said that the action was taken to stop “licence racketeering,” which is when people or businesses buy titles to minerals that are worth a lot of money and then sell the licenses to the highest price.

“By creating a secondary, black market to pawn mineral licences, the unsuspecting and unwary investor is misled into believing that he can only obtain licence by patronising the black market. This discourages investment,” Alake said.

“It is our belief that this decision will sanitise the licensing system by penalising those who have commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazaar, he added.

Nigeria wants to attract investors to a mining industry that hasn’t been developed much in the past. To do this, they are giving incentives like not having to pay taxes on profits and sending them back to Nigeria in full.

Nigeria has had trouble getting value from its huge mineral riches because it didn’t invest in or take care of them.

After making it harder for foreign companies to get mining licenses last year, Africa’s biggest oil provider will only give them to companies that process their minerals in the country itself. The country is also rich in lithium, gold, and limestone.