Get into polygamy if you want to be poor: Survey

People in polygamous marriages are more likely to be poor than those married to one spouse.

According to Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) released by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics in March, 42.8 per cent of households whose headship is in a polygamous union are poor compared to 27.2 per cent of their counterparts in monogamous unions.

“The poverty rates (45.5 per cent) are worse for households headed by females in a polygamous union,” says the survey.

The research reveals that you are better off staying single, as households headed by those who have never been married exhibit the least poverty rates.

This contradicts utterances by Kiambu legislature Gathoni Wamuchomba that marriage could curb the increased poverty women and children in single households endure when men leave.

In the now infamous clip, Gathoni is heard convincing men to marry as many wives as they can, to reduce poverty.

Religious leaders felt it was uncalled for. Bishop Samuel Njiriri, head of Stewards Revival Pentecostal Church on Outer Ring Road, said the MP's advice was misplaced and un-Christian.

Wachira Kiago, chairman of the Kikuyu Council of Elders, differed. He said the MP had demonstrated good leadership potential and courage by raising the issue.

“Out there we have millions of helpless women whose future would be markedly better if the community embraced the idea,” Mr Kiago said.

 Counties in North Eastern, Nyanza and Western are leading in polygamy.