The Sunday News
Thandeka Matebesi, Sunday Life Reporter
Many people believe polygamous marriages commonly referred to as isithembo are a recipe for economic and social disaster for those in such marriages.
In fact, most people shun polygamous marriages because of reasons varying from economic challenges and social problems of HIV/ Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases.
There are stories of people who have ended up as ‘‘charity cases’’ after failing to take care of their families because of economic challenges and one can only imagine how difficult it is for someone who is in a polygamous marriage.
It gets worse if that person is a political figure as people would think he took part in the election to sustain his family’s livelihood. But can that explain the scenario that played out in Tsholotsho South’s Ward 13 during this year’s harmonised elections?
One of the candidates for the councillor’s seat, Soka Ngwenya is in a polygamous marriage. He won the councillor’s position for Ward 13 for the first time after losing in 2013 and his background as a polygamous man cannot be ignored, especially in such difficult economic conditions where most people are struggling to maintain monogamous marriages.
However, Ngwenya has maintained that he is very much able to take care of his four wives and 12 children without relying on assistance from anyone as he is a well established businessman and farmer.
“Apart from being a councillor I am a businessman and a farmer. I own a butchery, a general dealer and a bottle store in Tsholotsho and all my wives have their own businesses. I have been paying for my children’s fees using the money I get from selling farming produce and this year I got up to 19 tonnes of maize and half-a-tonne of groundnuts,” said Ngwenya.
He revealed that the only challenge he has is that his children lack interest in pursuing education and stable careers despite having the resources to go to school.
“I do not have challenges in terms of money to educate the children. The only challenge I have is that the children do not want to go to school. My first born he repeated Form Four twice, when I tried to make him repeat the third time he refused but is now working for a funeral parlour. My daughter went to South Africa soon after applying at Great Zimbabwe University and when it was time for her to go to school she refused to come back. Even my third child who had passed Ordinary Level followed his sister to South Africa and refused to come back,” said Ngwenya.
As proof that his marriage is peaceful, Ngwenya said when his third wife graduated at Bulawayo Polytechnic College his other wives went to support her.
“All my wives get along very well although they stay in different places. I remember in 2015 when my third wife was graduating at Bulawayo Polytechnic College I did not attend but my first and fourth wife were there to support her,” he said.
Ngwenya said although marrying as many wives is acceptable in his culture, it took time before his first wife accepted his second wife.
“I am a Kalanga and in our culture when a woman is getting married she is told to expect and accept polygamy. My decision to marry a second wife did not sit well with my first wife at first but with time and comfort from friends and family she accepted it such that by the time I married the other three wives she accepted and lived peacefully with them.”
Ngwenya also said he had not started implementing his five-year development plan because of MDC Alliance’s petition.
“I haven’t started working on my development plan because of MDC Alliance’s court petition. Everything is still on hold as we are waiting for the inauguration, then the appointment and swearing in of the Cabinet, MPs and lastly us,” he said.
