Mr Bashir Mohamed and his two brides, Iqra and Nimo, on their wedding day. PHOTO | COURTESY
A young man who got married to two women last Friday night in Kenya, says he wedded the two brides at once because he wants to have many children.
The wedding, which took place in Sinai village, Ahmed Dhagah district, was well attended but the guests were surprised by the strange spectacle of a groom and two brides.
The groom, a man of Somali decent, who has been identified as Bashir Mohamed, was clad in a navy blue suit while the two brides, also Somalis, were dressed in flowing traditional Somali garbs.
Polygamy is allowed in Somali culture, but it is unusual for a man to marry two women at the same time, as Mohamed did.
POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGE
The groom, who spoke to BBC Swahili, said he courted both brides Iqra and Nimo for about eight months and convinced them to marry him.
“I used to bring them together to socialize with me at my home, I used to say openly to both of them that I love them. They were satisfied,” he told BBC Somali.
Bashir further revealed that the idea of marrying the two brides on the same day was his way of ensuring that they wouldn’t get ‘jealous’ as well as ensuring they felt equal since they would be aware from the onset that they were in a polygamous marriage
“I will encourage other men to do it, if they can afford it,” he added.