Not because he is the richest man in South Africa or the most handsome man but to support a history that men are polygamous. Gobela Faniyakhe Mthembu, a 50-year-old South African from Umhlabuyalingana, north of KZN, hit the headlines after marrying six women the same day.
Does it sound funny to you? No! its reality. Mr. Gobela Faniyakhe Mthembu, also known as Baba, has revealed that he intends to marry eight women at the same time. However, the other two said they were not ready. In an interview with Daily Sun, Mthembu said his goal is to have 14 wives. He plans to marry the other two in June and take six more next year. Though he is not alone in the game, his brother, inyanga Godolulalamkankane Mthembu already has ten wives.
Gobela Faniyakhe marriage to his six wives, according to their names: Zanele Shabalala (49, Sibongile Zikhali (49), Nikiwe Khumalo (38), Thandi Khumalo (30), Hloniphile Ndlanzi (26), and Celiwe Ndlanzi (26) cost him almost 49,000 dollars. These women all live in his house and altogether have 21 children.
One of the women, Hloniphile, said that Mthembu had called them to a meeting in October of last year and informed them that they would all have a joint wedding ceremony in February. ‘We were delighted when Baba told us the news. We impatiently awaited this day, and we did not stop thanking our ancestors. The ceremony went well,’ she explained.
Baba has no plans for sharing nights with his wives. He explained that when the sun goes down, he will decide which woman to sleep with, and nobody knows where he is going to sleep. “So I let them guess. I do this so that none of them deceives me,” Baba sound. “They all expect me to knock on the door,” he concluded.
