Super dad of 40 kids, struggles to look after his family

Known to many Zimbabweans as a super dad, polygamist Luka Ngwenya (53) of Chireya area under Chief Mukoka in Nembudziya, Sanyati, who has sired over 40 children with his five wives, looks strong on the outside but he is a broken man who is finding it difficult to take care of his ever increasing number of children.

The latest addition, Mthandazo, from his third wife Hlekiwe Tititi Ngwenya (40) also known as MaMoyo brings the number of his living children to 27. He now says the children are enough.

While many may envy the super dad, for his siring prowess, his remaining two wives feel sorry for him as they watch the burden of taking care of his children take its toll on their husband. The way the wives narrate their life and what meets the eye when one visits their homestead leaves many stunned.

"We were always pregnant and it felt abnormal not to be," said MaMoyo.

A total of 11 children, out of the 16 who are still in school, were at home because of non-payment of fees when our news crew knocked on their doors last Thursday. The children all aged between six and 14 were scattered on all corners of their yard. The co-wives are so close that they call each other 'sisters'.

"We are so close that our babies would breastfeed from any available mom with ease as we would have children at almost the same time. We respect each other. I see her as my sister. Our husband taught us to love each other in this marriage and this keeps us as a unit. Saying bad things about another wife is what makes many polygamous unions fail. We are sisters first and wives last," says MaMoyo.

The news crew could not find the husband of five and father of +40 children. He was said to have gone to some gold claims 25 kilometres away to try to raise money for school fees. There is no rest for the superdad as he has 41 hungry mouths to feed.

"Our husband does not know the total number of his kids and neither does he know their names. He just calls them by any name and the closest to him answers," says Maongera who was married in 1971.

She is the quieter of the two wives and has 13 children. She has had two miscarriages.

The late second wife Maria Mazivisa had four children and had one miscarriage. Two other wives who left Ngwenya are Fadzai Maongera who had one child and Tsitsi Washaya who also had a child. They were both Maongera and MaMoyo's sisters respectively.

Ngwenya also takes care of his late brother's two children Francis and Angela, both minors. and has 10 grandchildren.

At 16 Mamoyo fell head over heels in love with him after he told her he only had one wife.

"He is very clever and said his first wife wanted a friend to play with and I complied. I only learnt that he had two wives when I married him. I did not have a problem with that since I came from a polygamous family. I just said to myself, ndajutwa nababa ava, ( I have been tricked by this man)," she said.

Back then they had a small family, owned two cows, several chickens and goats. They lived in pole and dagga houses. But today, they own only two chickens, no goats. They do not own any cattle and the four they had in their kraal belong to Ngwenya's younger brother who is a businessman, according to the wives and all the children. The cattle they owned died of hunger.