Category Archives: Polygamy

Robynand Kody Brown have been at odds through TLCs Sister Wives Season 14over the Brown familys tumultuous move from Las Vegas to Flagstaff, Arizona.

While Kody allegedly promised Robyn, his fourth wife, andher five children that they would quickly move to the familys communalproperty in Arizona, CoyotePass, that didnt end up being the case. Instead, all four of Kodys wiveshad to move from rental to rental at various points in order to navigate thecomplicated Flagstaff housing market.

When the owner of Robynsrental home decided to sell the house, Robyn hoped to rent again in orderto save money to build on Coyote Pass. But Kody insisted that they buy instead.The couples conflict eroded their trust and led to more bickering and fightingthan their decade-long marriage had endured thus far.

In a sneak peek of the Apr. 5 episode of Sister Wives, Baby Steps, Robyn and Kody have finally decided on a home to buy. But, according to Robyn, the sellers perceptions of polygamy (otherwise known as plural marriage) are making the sale more complicated than they hoped it would be.

In TLCs sneakpeek of the upcoming episode, Kody reveals that the closing date for his potentialhome with Robyn has been delayed yet again, leading to even more financial strain.

We still havent closed on the house that Robyn and I aretrying to buy, he laments.

All of a sudden, we got an email going, We need moreinformation from you, Robyn says in the preview. The SisterWives star hints that, although it hasnt been directly stated, theBrown familys status as polygamists is making the closing take longer thanthey originally anticipated.

We thought we were going to close before we actually had to be out of the house, Kody explains. We found out right as we were loading up our trucks that we needed more time.

As the preview continues, Robynand Kody head out to Coyote Pass, where their belongings are temporarilystored in four enormous moving trucks. The couple reflects on how the immensestress of constant moves has taken a toll on them.

Kody complains about the mounting pressure of movingexpenses as the Browns move from rental to rental. So this is a real bummer, waitingevery single day that we wait, were paying on four rental trucks, he reveals,and were paying a daily rate on a home that we cant move into yet.

Looking at the looming moving trucks, Robyn admits, This ismaking me depressed. The Sister Wives star adds, Its just reminding methat we have all of our belongings in trucks.

The 41-year-old mom of five explains that shes stopped telling the kids much of anything about their potential move in order to protect them from heartache and stress. Robyn explains that every time they have to delay the closing date further, the children get frustrated all over again.

Robyns theory is that the complicated financial situationsthat often accompany polygamy are delaying the closing date.

My guess is that its because were a plural family, thatssort of holding us up, she tells TLC producers.

The SisterWives star explains that thelogistics of polygamy dont usually fit into typical real estate sales, oftenleaving them floundering when they try to buy.

What is also happening, and this has happened every singletime we try to buy a house, is that our plural family situations get broughtinto the financials, Robyn claims. Because were all interconnectedfinancially, and now they want Janelles financials, they want Merisfinancials, they want Christines financials. They want it all.

Robyn says that lenders and sellers often dont know what tomake of the Browns finances or their family situation. Because theyre tryingto dissect it and go, wait, huh? How does this work financially? she explains.And its because plural families dont fit in the financial world of mortgages.

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'Sister Wives': Robyn Brown Thinks Polygamy Is Preventing Her From Buying a Home - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Netflixs new docuseries Tiger King takes viewers into the strange world of big cat collectors. Featuring eccentric characters with names like Joe Exotic and Bhagavan Doc Antle, the series touches on polygamy, addiction and personality cults, while exploring a mysterious disappearance and a murder-for-hire.

To Allison Skidmore, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Santa Cruz who studies wildlife trafficking, the documentary didnt bring enough attention to the scourge of captive big cats.

A former park ranger, Skidmore first started studying the issue in the U.S. after the infamous death ofCecil the Lionin Zimbabwe in 2015. She was shocked to learn about how little oversight there was stateside. We asked her about the legality, incentives and ease of buying and selling tigers.

1. How many captive tigers are in the US?

Unfortunately, theres no straightforward answer. The vast majority of captive tigers are crossbred hybrids, so they arent identified as members of one of thesix tiger subspecies the Bengal tiger, Amur tiger, South China tiger, Sumatran tiger, Indochinese tiger and Malayan tiger. Instead, theyre classified as generic.

Less than 5 percent orfewer than 350 of tigers in captivity are managed through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit organization that serves as an accrediting body in the U.S. They ensure accredited facilities meet higher standards of animal care than required by law.

All the rest are privately owned tigers, meaning they dont belong to one of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums 236 sponsored institutions. These are considered generic and fall outside of federal oversight.

Theres no legal requirement to register these generic tigers, nor a comprehensive national database to track and monitor them. The best educated guess puts the number of tigersat around 10,000in the U.S. Estimates put the global captive tiger populationas high as 25,000.

In comparison, there are fewer than4,000 tigers in the wild down from 100,000 a century ago.

2. How do tigers change hands?

TheEndangered Species Actand theConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Faunaprevent the importation of tigers from the wild. So all tigers in the U.S. are born in captivity, with the rare exception of an orphaned wild cub that may end up in a zoo.

Only purebred tigers that are one of the six definitive subspecies are accounted for; these are the tigers you see in places like theSmithsonian National Zooand generally belong to theSpecies Survival Plan, a captive breeding program designed to regulate the exchange of specific endangered species between member zoos in order to maintain genetic diversity.

All other tigers are found in zoos, sanctuaries, carnivals, wildlife parks, exhibits and private homes that arent sanctioned by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. They can change hands in any number of ways, fromonline marketplacesto exotic animal auctions. They can be bought for as little asUS$800 to $2,000 for a cub and $200 to $500 for an adult, which is less expensive than many purebred dog puppies.

3. Can I legally buy a tiger?

The U.S. is plagued with complicated and vague laws concerning tiger ownership.

However, there are no federal statutes or regulations that expressly forbid private ownership of tigers. State and local jurisdictions have been given this authority,and some do pass bans or require permits. Thirty-two states have bans or partial bans, and 14 states allow ownership with a simple license or permit. Four states Alabama, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada have no form of oversight or regulation at all.

An overarching, cohesive framework of regulations is missing, and even in states that ban private ownership, there are loopholes. For example, in all but three states, owners can apply for whats called a federal exhibitor license, which is remarkably cheap and easy to obtain andcircumvents any stricter state or local laws in place.

You nowneed a permitto transport tigers across state lines, but theres still no permit required for intra-state travel.

4. Whats in it for the owners?

Some see it as a business venture, while others claim they care about conservation. I consider the latter reason insincere.

Many facilitiespromote themselvesaswildlife refuges or sanctuaries. These places frame their breeding and exhibition practices as stewardship, as if theyre contributing to an endangered animals survival. The reality is thatno captive tiger has ever been released into the wild, so its not like these facilities can augment wild populations. A true sanctuary or refuge should have a strict no breeding or handling policy, and should have education programs dedicated to promoting conservation.

Ultimately, tigers are big money makers, especially tiger cubs. TheAnimal Welfare Actallows cub petting from eight to 12 weeks of age.People pay$100 to $700 to pet, bottle-feed, swim with or take a photo with a cub.

None of these profits go toward the conservation of wild tigers, and this small window of opportunity for direct public contact means that exhibitors must continually breed tigers to maintain a constant supply of cubs.

The value of cubs declines significantly after 12 weeks. Where do all these surplus tigers go? Unfortunately, due to a lack of regulatory oversight, its hard to know.

Since many states dont account for their live tigers, theres alsono oversight regarding the reporting and disposal of dead tigers. Wildlife criminologists fear that these tigers can easily end up in the black market where their parts can cumulativelybe worth up to $70,000. Theres evidence of U.S. captive tigers tied to the domestic black market trade: In 2003, an owner of a tiger rescue facilitywas found to have 90 dead tigers in freezers on his property. And in 2001,an undercover investigationled by theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Serviceended up leading to the prosecutions of 16 people for buying, selling and slaughtering 19 tigers.

5. What role does social media play?

Posing with tigerson social media platforms like Instagram and on dating apps has become a huge problem. Not only can it create a health and safety risk forboth the human and tiger, but it also fosters a false narrative.

If you see thousands of photos ofpeople with captive tigers, it masks the true problem of endangered tigers in the wild. Some might wonder whether tigers are really so endangered if theyre so easy to pose with.

The reality of the wild tigers plight has become masked behind the pomp and pageantry of social media. This marginalizes meaningful ideas about conservation and the true status of tigers as one of the most endangered big cats.

***

Allison Skidmore is aPhD Candidate in Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

This article was first published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.

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Tiger King and Americas captive tiger problem - The Jakarta Post - Jakarta Post

Their reasons for fleeing the state so many years ago are officially no longer valid since Utah has officially decriminalized polygamy. However, fans of Sister Wives shouldnt expect to see another whole season of moving woes for the Brown family, as they intend to stay put in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Following news that the Utah Governor signed Senate Bill 102 into law, which reduced bigamy between consenting adults to an infraction with the same kind of penalties as a traffic ticket, famous polygamous families sounded off on the decision, including the Sister Wives stars friends, TheDargerFamily, praising the news on social media. However, while Brown family patriarch Kody also seemed excited by the prospect that the bill had been passed, he admitted his family wasnt going to head back to Utah, the state they left years ago under fears of persecution.

Too late. Utah lost us...Now we have a new home in the free state of Arizona, he wrote on Twitter.

Second wife Janelle also expressed joy over the news that the bill had passed, letting theDargersknow that she couldnt wait to celebrate with them.

Fans previously wondered if the bill being passed would bring the family back to their home state, after Koy had previously admitted on the show that he wanted to go back there eventually, and had even wanted to go there after leaving Las Vegas, but that the laws prevented them from doing so. However, the issues the family has encountered since going to Flagstaff have seeminglymadethem weary when it comes to the idea of another move.

So far during the current season of their TLC reality show, fans have watched as the family not only struggled to sell off their homes in Las Vegas but several moves within Flagstaff itself. Meri was forced out of her first rental by neighbors who didnt want her living near them and was sent back to Nevada for a short period as a result. She was then forced to leave her second rental when the owners opted to sell the property, and most recently, fans saw her contend with the fact that she could be forced from her third home due to a wildfire that had her on pre-evacuation notice.

Inaddition, Janelle also had to move to a new rental, while Robyn also had to leave her home when the owners wound up selling it. To date, the family has not begun to build homes on their Coyote Pass land.

Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EDT on TLC.

Pictured L-R: Robyn, Meri, Kody, Christine and Janelle Brown of Sister Wives in a promo photo for the new season. Photo: Sister Wives Facebook

See the article here:

Kody Brown Reveals If Sister Wives Will Move Back To Utah - International Business Times

SALT LAKE CITY Gov. Gary Herbert concluded signing bills passed during the Utah Legislatures recently completed session, including legislation pertaining to the disposal of fetal remains, a penalty reduction for polygamy, and an elective abortion ban with a trigger clause that will only take effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Utah lawmakers passed 510 bills throughout the 45-day general session that ended at midnight on March 12. Herbert vetoed five bills and didnt act one one, which went in effect without his signature.

Herbert explained in a letter to Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, that he vetoed four of the five bills because they amend tax policy in a time of economic uncertainty.

He had until the end of Wednesday to sign or veto the bills.

Herbert signed one of the more controversial bills a sweeping abortion ban with a few exceptions on Saturday.

SB174, sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, will only go into effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. It will only allow abortions in cases of rape, incest, substantial impairment of the mothers health, or if the fetus has a lethal birth defect or severe brain abnormality that would render it in a vegetative state.

Anyone who performs an abortion that doesnt fall under these exceptions could face a second-degree felony charge.

Herbert signed another controversial bill Saturday that has to do with the disposal of fetal remains.

SB67, sponsored by Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, requires health care providers to either bury or cremate aborted and miscarried fetal remains.

Like SB174, the bill passed along party lines and was opposed by abortion-rights groups in this case arguing that the legislation will increase a womans trauma by forcing a decision on how she wanted the remains to be disposed.

Bramble said the woman would receive a form asking how she wants the remains to be taken care of, but emphasized that she could choose not to select a method at all if she preferred.

Other bills Herbert has signed include SB102, which drastically lowers the penalty for bigamy between consenting adults while enhancing penalties for crimes committed in concert with bigamy like sexual abuse, domestic violence or fraud.

Sponsored by Sen. Deidre Henderson, R-Spanish Fork, the new law drops the penalty for bigamy from a felony punishable to up to five years in prison to an infraction, which is less severe than some traffic tickets.

Henderson said the laws purpose is to drive victims of abuse in polygamist communities out of the shadows so they can get aid, explaining they would have been less inclined to do so before out of fear of the felony penalty.

The bill earned a great deal of support from lawmakers in both the Senate and the House, but it encountered resistance from some victim advocate groups that were concerned reducing the criminal penalty would actually embolden perpetrators of crimes in polygamous families.

Herbert also signed SB97, which tightens the rules for what can be requested for a personalized license plate legislation that came about after controversy regarding vanity plates erupted when a picture of the license plate DEPORTM was posted to Twitter.

The new law, sponsored by Senate Minority Whip Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, expands restrictions to include a provision saying requests should be denied when they disparage a group based on race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, citizenship status, or physical or mental disability.

Plate requests can currently be denied when they carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency or that would be misleading. The Utah Division of Motor Vehicles details this as meaning requests that reference drugs; are sexual, vulgar or derogatory; suggest ideas dangerous to public welfare; or disrespect race, religion, deity, ethnic heritage, gender or political affiliation.

The law also allows for vanity plates that reference a state symbol such as the Utah firearm.

Other notable bills signed

Bills vetoed

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Elective abortion ban, other bills signed by Gov. Gary Herbert - Deseret News

Growing up in a polygamist community, Shirlee Draper heard stories about her fathers childhood how he was pulled out from under his bed in a government raid and taken from his parents.

I grew up with intense fear of outsiders, Draper said. We called people who drove into town that were not part of our community kidnappers. We knew that was a fate we could suffer as our parents had suffered.

Draper was a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) a polygamist sect led by Warren Jeffs, who is now in prison for two felony counts of child sexual assault. But it wasnt until Draper decided to leave that she realized how she had been trapped.

I saw firsthand how the leaders were able to gain control because of the fear of law enforcement, she said. In Utah, polygamy is a felony, and it took Draper six years to move out. I had no way to get help. Everywhere I went, I was visually identifiable as a felon, and I was greeted with hostility.

Later, when her mother tried to leave the community and apply for a drivers license, Draper said she was still wearing her FLDS clothing a collared, ankle-length dress with puffed sleeves. A clerk an employee of the state of Utah denied her a drivers license and told her to her face, we dont want you here, Draper said. As a result, my mom went back to Colorado City, and she died because she could not access the medical care that she needed.

Draper is now the director of operations for Cherish Families, an organization serving people affected by polygamy. What weve done is weve legislated prejudicial treatment to a second-class citizenry, she said. Lets not create populations and communities that are vulnerable to that kind of exploitation and abuse. Weve done it to people of color, weve done it to sex workers, we do it to undocumented immigrants. We decide theyre not worthy of living in society, and so we ostracize them, which practically guarantees that they will be exploited, that they will be harmed.

Draper supports a law that would effectively decriminalize polygamy for consenting adults in Utah. State lawmakers have approved a bill that would reduce the penalties for plural marriage from a felony to an infraction. It still needs the governors signature to become law. The bills sponsor, senator Deidre Henderson, said the fear of government prosecution has created an environment that enables abuse.

Todays prohibition on polygamy has created a shadow society in which the vulnerable make easy prey, Henderson said. Because of the very real fear of imprisonment, losing employment, not being treated fairly, and having their children taken into state custody, we now have an environment where crime often goes unreported, victims are silenced, and perpetrators are empowered, she said.

Under the bill, polygamy is still considered a felony if the person also commits other felony offenses including criminal homicide, kidnapping, trafficking, smuggling, sexual offenses or child abuse. This bill strikes a balance between giving certainty to otherwise law-abiding polygamists that they dont have to fear prosecution, imprisonment, or having their children removed simply because they live a polygamous lifestyle, while also holding those who commit serious crimes accountable for their actions, Henderson said.

Utah has had some of the most severe laws on polygamy in the nation. It also has the greatest number of people living in plural marriages estimated to be in the thousands, though its impossible to get precise numbers because many live in hiding.

Utahs laws governing polygamy can be traced back to its unique history. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as Mormons) once practiced polygamy as part of their religion, and fled to the Utah territory when they encountered persecution. But in order to become a state, the federal government required Utah to write into its constitution that polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited.

Since the state made polygamy a felony in 1935, polygamous families have scattered and formed communities in hiding, some as part of religious groups, and some independent.

Brenda Nicholson is a former member of the same FLDS sect as Shirlee Draper, but she opposes the move to decriminalize polygamy. She believes its not fear of prosecution that isolates people, its the control tactics of polygamous leaders themselves.

They tell you dont trust anything that doesnt come from the church, Nicholson said. Men had authority from God. They supposedly talked with and for God, and so whatever the men said, that was it. She said people who reported crimes to outside authorities could be expelled, punished, or separated from family members.

Nicholson was afraid of losing her children, not because of the government, but because of these male leaders. They had gone through a process of deciding who was worthy and who was not worthy. Three of my children had been judged worthy, and I and my husband and our other children were not worthy. So they were going to take half my children and give them to a more worthy family, Nicholson said. There was no way I was going to let anybody take my children, and so we left.

Nicholson believes more government intervention is needed, not less. I dont believe that Utah really has the intention of truly prosecuting the crimes that are going on. Theyve had evidence, they dont seem to care. Nicholson said. To be told what happened to you wasnt a crime is really hurtful. I know there are all these laws around it that apply human trafficking is illegal, statutory rape, forced marriage, child labor, physical abuse, sexual abuse, fraud, all of those things are illegal they are very much integrated into religious polygamy. People will say we just need to prosecute these other crimes, and I agree, but the problem is they wont, and they arent.

Utah hasnt prosecuted anyone for polygamy in almost two decades, instead focusing on crimes such as child sexual assault, domestic abuse, tax and welfare fraud. The state attorney generals office has a written policy of not prosecuting polygamists unless another crime has occurred. County attorneys have adopted similar policies. Some have said the law is unenforceable and possibly unconstitutional.

Joe Darger, an independent polygamist, says court rulings on gay marriage and private homosexual activity have bolstered the case for decriminalization.

So long as youre not hurting somebody, how do you outlaw behavior between consenting adults? The difference is, polygamists arent trying to get legal recognition, Darger said. Its really just freedom to do what you want as a consenting adult. He hopes the bill, which applies to all genders, will help change societal attitudes, and separate legitimate criminals from law-abiding polygamists.

If you want to end the narrative that there are abuses in polygamous communities, you've got to take them out of the shadows

If you want to end the narrative that there are abuses in polygamous communities, youve got to take them out of the shadows, Darger said. The majority of them are innocent, faithful and civic-minded families. Marginalizing them as committing felonious behavior allows the stereotypes to exist; that polygamy equals abuse. Those kinds of stereotypes exist because no one dares speak up and say anything different, he said. The law gives people license for bigotry.

Opponents of the bill have questioned whether women raised in isolated, religious, groups can really be informed, consenting adults, but Shirlee Draper finds this insulting.

Nobody would dare infantilize women the way they do women who opt into polygamy, Draper said. From my perspective, the most feminist thing we can do is give women the opportunity to choose who they love and with whom they live and thats literally all this bill is doing. For my money, the more options women have, the better access they have to education, to healthcare, the better choices theyre going to make for themselves, she said. But as long as we infantilize them, and tell them what they can do and what they cant do, we remove choices from them as much as they say the polygamists are doing.

Anne Wilde is the author of Voices in Harmony, a compilation of womens experiences in plural marriage. At 84 years old, shes worked for years to educate people about why she and others choose to live in polygamy.

I have met so many wonderful polygamist families that have no business being labeled as felons, Wilde said. Its a shadow over the family because they know and theyve had to teach their children that theyre living that felonious lifestyle, she said. This kind of removes that shadow, but it isnt going to change the opinion of the communities overnight.

I still believe that polygamy is oppressive to women, said Mormon feminist Lindsay Hansen Park, but she supports the bill. We have 100 years of apathy from our state government and law enforcement to prosecute this. I found that its nearly impossible to be able to police how relationships work and what a family looks like. We need to figure out a better way to get justice for victims who have grown up in isolated, fundamentalist groups than attacking family structures, she said.

Park is host of the podcast Year of Polygamy, and after talking with victims and advocates, she believes this bill removes barriers for people seeking help. But its not an easy fix-all, she said. It doesnt bring justice to a lot of victims who leave these groups, and dont have any retribution for the things that they went through.

Im convinced that polygamy is a symptom of the problem, but its not the problem itself, Park said. The problem is patriarchal hierarchy with religious penalties. That takes a lot more to dismantle than a piece of legislation.

Read more:

Polygamy is about to be decriminalised in Utah. Is it good news for women? - The Guardian

For many who knew him during his lifetime, the name Acentus Akuku Danger is synonymous to polygamy.

Call him the grandmaster of seduction if you must because he was Kenyas most prominent polygamist and is reported to have married more than 100 women in his lifetime and fathered over 200 children.

The rise of Danger

Born Acentus Ogwella Akuku, he married his first wife in 1939. At the age of 22, he had married five wives and by the time he was 35, he was on his 45th wife.

His love for polygamy and women earned him the nickname Danger from his peers who believed that his every move was made to attract women.

Im called Danger because I overshadowed many men when it came to women. I was very handsome. I dressed well and I knew how to charm women with sweet talk. No woman could decline my advances. I was a magnet, Akuku once toldThe Standard.

Arguably one of the worlds best-known polygamists, he married his last wife in 1992 when he was 79.The woman was then only 18.

His love for polygamy was no longer a family thing but became an industry as he had so many children in his family that he established two elementary schools solely to educate his children, as well as a church for his growing family to attend.

Akuku The Disciplinarian

Despite his large family, he was reputed to be adisciplinarian who ruled his large family with an iron fist. He knew all the children by name and made a roster on when to spend on which house.

In past interviews, Akuku told local journalists he was responsible for naming all of his children, as way to bond with them.

I lived a lavish lifestyle. I was always ready to spend money on women.

I divorced women who misbehaved, he once said.

Akuku grouped his families in clustersspreading across Ndhiwa, Homa Bay and Migori. His main homestead or State House is however in Rachuodho.

As a rule, one family cannot claim the property in another cluster.

In a chat with Daily Nation, one of Akukus wives,Damaris Awiti recalled her time with him.

She had gone to visit her sisterPriscah Obumba who had just delivered a child. Priscah was the ninth wife but Damaris began to envy her sister for her catch and didnt waste time in accepting Akukus proposal when he asked to marry her as well.

He was a tall and very handsome man. The tone of his voice was very soothing. I found him irresistible. Furthermore, he had enough wealth, which was every womans dream at the time, Damaris told Daily Nation.

On how the household was run, Damaris said:

He was a very caring man who would make you feel like the luckiest woman on earth. I loved him very much, and he, too, loved us, recalls Damaris.

When I joined the family, I was taught how to live and what roles I would play in the home,

One wife, for example, would be assigned the duty of cooking for our husband for a given period. Another would iron his clothes and so on, explains Damaris. That way, we avoided chaos.

Wives without special duties, Damaris said, would accompany the other family members to the farm, where they worked until evening. After farming, Damaris said every woman would go back to her house with her children and cook for them. Akuku would spend the evening with the wife whose responsibility was to cook for him during that period.

Mzee did not like lazy, proud and arrogant women. He would warn a woman over a misdemeanour and, if she repeated the same mistake, chase her away. All her children sired by Akuku would remain in the family.

When a woman had been divorced, says Damaris, Akuku would decide which one of his many wives would take care of the children of the expelled wife.

Rise of an Empire?

Many attributed his large family to the fact he was very rich; he owned a fleet of taxis, and most of these cars were driven by his sons.

In one street trading centre you will see a general store run by one of his sons and a tailors run by a daughter, aBBCreport in 2000 said.

Aoro Chuodho market is literally Akukus empire. Half of the shops and residential buildings are his and his family members. Most of the buildings have names like Akuku Danger Plaza, Akuku Tailoring shop, Akuku Shop, P Akuku Complex Akuku This and Akuku That.

Special Diet

For those wondering where he got the energy to run his household, Akuku himself admitted he never forgot to cater to his own health as he followed a strict diet.

I avoid too much fat and salt and it helped me to escape diseases, he said. I eat at the right time and I just dont eat anything. I am served traditional food that is well prepared. I always eat a fruit after meals.

Towards the end of his life,Akuku started charging fees for media interviews. Journalists and tourists who trooped to his main home in Ndhiwa District had to pay fees.

Akuku Goes Home

He died in October 2010 at the age of 92 and reportssaid he outlived 12 of his wives.

Akuku collapsed at one of his homes in Ndhiwa and died on arrival at the Nyanza Provincial Hospital at 2 am. He was suffering from diabetes.

The family spokesman, Mr Tom Akuku, however, said only 40 of his fathers many marriages were recognised by the Luo customary laws. He said that out of the 40 wives, only 22 were still alive.

Mzee sired 210 children104 daughters and 106 sons, some of whom have since died, Tom Akukusaidat the time of Akukus death.

But His Legacy Lives On

It is reported that Akuku held regular night meetings with his family. This tradition did not end with his death. His family still gets together at State Houseto address any problems and discuss matters affecting them.

They have a common kitty, where all income is collected and distributed. Most of the funds are for school-going children and Akukus orphans, a family spokesman said.

Grandson Nickson Mwanzo says the Akuku clan is using Facebook to bond with each other.The grandchildren are setting up the Akuku Danger Family Facebook page in honour of their grandfather.

We are so many that it is hard for us to meet in one gathering, so we set up a Facebook page to track Akukus lineage, says Mwanzo.

To his surprise, they got responses from all over the world.

His sons and grandchildren are well educated and work in the civil service and the private sector.

He has been our advisor and guardian, said Dorcas Matunga, the Homa Bay County Council Chairperson and one of the late Akukus daughters-in-law.

Following his death, there have been comparisons between Akuku andother successful polygamists from the African continent. Names like eSwatinis King Mswati III, who has about 14 wives and 23 children, have come up. South Africas former President Jacob Zuma is also noted to have five wives and 20 children.

But perhaps the one who comes close to Akuku isAbumbi II, the 11th king of the Bafut kingdom in north-west Cameroon.

The king has 100 wives and 500 children. The only exception is that he inherited 72 wives from his father, King Achirimbi II, who died in 1968. With 28 wives already, King Abumbi ended up with 100 queens and 500 children.

However, those who knew Akuku agree that if ever there would be an award for a successful polygamist, Akuku would get the gold.

As Kenyans often say of a departed fellow, Danger has left a gap that will be difficult to fill because many men have failed the test of seduction, leave alone polygamy.

Read the original:

Asentus Akuku 'Danger': The Polygamist With 130 Wives And Over 200 Children - Guardian

Musician and feminist Simphiwe Dana has issued a public apology over hurtful and insulting comments she leveled against popular polygamist and Mnakwethu host, Musa Mseleku, when she disagreed strongly with the show's take on polygamy.

The apology came early on Tuesday after Musa demanded that Simphiwe personally apologise to him for the insults. Simphiwe made references about the possible size of Musa's manhood, and also accused him of having an obsession with humiliating women.

"I have watched a few episodes of Mnakwethu in disbelief over the past few weeks. As a feminist, the emotional abuse and humiliation of women on the show really hurt and angered me greatly. As a result, I personalised that anger and took it out on Musa Mseleku.

"I unreservedly apologise for this. For any hurt I have caused him, I am truly sorry - and I believe there is another, less harmful way from all parties affected, that this conversation can be had," read the statement.

Simphiwe had joined the increasing number of Mnakwethu viewers who have slammed the show and the unsettling pattern of male participants who seemingly distort traditions around polygamy to suit their personal desires.

"Is Mnakwethu the African tradition hill yall are willing to die on? I say yall because it could never be me. Women being humiliated like this could never have my stamp of approval. I cant even believe its being flighted. Surely we have rights as women," Simphiwe tweeted previously.

Read more:

Simphiwe Dana apologises to Musa Mseleku for 'insulting comments and Mnakwethu hate' - TimesLIVE

Sister Wives fans see a bunch of women at odds with each other this season. They also see the downside of polygamy as Kody wants a giant home for all of them. It looks like even Robyns in trouble these days. None of them agree over the big home he wants, and Kody seems to blame Meri for all his woes. Fans grow weary of the never-ending story, and they grow irritated that Meris always the one Kody blames. They didnt move into the big home yet, so where do they live?

Kody doesnt love Meri anymore. Okay, some fans think, enough. Meri just get outta there and go your way. But she resolutely sticks with being the bad person in Kodys life. And, fans know the other wives really dont like her very much. Kody seems to encourage the division between his wives, In fact, he yelled at Robyn, telling her not to stick up for Meri.

Sister Wives fans heard that Kody now regrets his polygamous lifestyle, TV Shows Ace reported. After complaining about Meri and her role in dividing the wives, Kody said he doesnt like it when the wives spend time together. That seems a bit odd seeing he wants them all under one roof. In a camera interview, he said, Im struggling with plural marriage and Im struggling with my wives and Im struggling with their conflict.

During the last year or so, various outlets kept track of the different wives. Robyn and Kody bought a mansion, and he seems to live there with Meris usurper as his first wife. Meanwhile, Monsters and Critics remind their readers that Christine also lives in her own home, a three-bed, three-bath home. Meanwhile, after Meri left her original rental in Flagstaff and returned briefly to Las Vegas, she returned and lives in a big home that may or may not be a rental.

Its interesting seeing all these properties on top of the large payment Kody made for the big piece of land at Coyote pass. According to Kody on the Sister Wives show, their finances seem in a very poor position. Fans seem less than impressed with Kody and his treatment of Meri this season. Loads of comments about her pushed off into the wings, and the way Kody talks to her is getting on their nerves.

On Twitter, the subject of the single home annoys some fans. But they also hate the idea of Kody being so openly aggressive with Meri. Heres what some of them said about it:

Meri deserves a better husband than this sad sack #sisterwives pic.twitter.com/4gLcsiCd9S

Tony Bahama (@Tony_Bahama) March 2, 2020

What do you think about all this drama between the wives and Kody Brown over where they actually live or plan on living? Do you think its all Meris fault they seem so divided? Sound off your thoughts in the comments below.

Remember to check back with TV Shows Ace often for more news about TLCs Sister Wives.

Woryn is a writer who started a small book publishing company. She wrote three books, one of them published by Domhan. Woryn also writes as Jane Flowers for The Destination Seeker and Blasting News.

Read more:

'Sister Wives': Kody Brown Blames Meri Over Big House Dissent - Where Do They Live At The Moment? - TV Shows Ace

Recently, child welfare officials allege in court documents that the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints outside of Eldorado, Texas, was "rife with sexual abuse, with girls spiritually married to much older men as soon as they reached puberty and boys were groomed to perpetuate the cycle [source: AP]. " In 1997, Warren Jeffs, the former church leader, was prosecuted and found guilty on two charges of rape by accomplice.

On the popular HBO drama "Big Love," Bill Paxton plays a man with three wives who live next door to each other and share a backyard. So polygamy isn't just on fictional TV, but are any of these portrayals accurate?

Today, most Americans think of monogamy as the "normal" form of marriage. But as it turns out, strictly monogamous practices are in the minority. In fact, cultures that practice some form of polygamy outnumber monogamous cultures by the hundreds [ref]. Some critics suggest that the Western practice of frequent divorce and remarrying represents a form of serial polygamy, though most anthropologists consider it serial monogamy -- no one gets married to more than one person at one time.

The Nyinba people of Nepal practice fraternal polyandry. Polyandry is a form of polygamy in which one woman has multiple husbands. In Nyinbian culture, when a woman marries a man, she marries all of his brothers, too. All of the brothers have equal sexual access to the wife, and the entire family cares for the children, although the family may recognize individual brothers as the specific father of a given child [ref]. This kind of marriage structure concentrates the wealth and resources of all the brothers into one family, and also concentrates their parents' land and wealth.

Polygyny, on the other hand, rewards males who have access to greater wealth and resources than others. It takes a lot of work and money to support a large number of wives and the children they produce. In biological terms, such a man is an excellent choice for reproducing and passing his genes on to the next generation, which could be expected to be similarly successful. A man can father many children in a short period, while a woman is limited to one pregnancy every nine months. If a successful man has many wives, he can pass on his genes more often. This is also an advantage in societies where rapid and frequent reproduction is vital for survival. Early Jewish doctrine encouraged polygyny because Jews were a minority and needed to increase their numbers rapidly. Some orthodox Jewish sects advocate polygyny today, and some scholars believe that the Talmud contains passages suggesting tolerance or even encouragement of polygyny.

Islamic tradition addresses polygamy directly. The Koran states that a man is allowed up to four wives, but only if he can support them and treat them all equally. Many Islamic societies continue to allow polygamy, but usually only the most affluent men can afford multiple wives. Westernization has led many younger Muslims to view polygamy as old-fashioned.

In Vietnam, polygamy is not legal, but there's a practical reason for its practice -- decades of war has left the male population severely depleted. Polygamy was also common in China before Confucianism, which supported the practice, fell out of favor. Many African tribes, Native American tribes and pre-Christian Celts practiced polygamy, often without the conservative restraints on the sexual aspects of it that characterize Mormon polygamy [ref].

Next, we'll look at the Mormons, polygamy and the United States legal system.

Continued here:

How Polygamy Works | HowStuffWorks

February 19, 2020, 9:01 PM

2 min read

The Utah Senate unanimously passed a bill that effectively decriminalizes polygamy between consenting adults.

The bill would make polygamy an infraction, amending the current penalty punishable by up to five years in prison. Republican Sen. Deidre Henderson sponsored the bill.

It passed Tuesday and now will make its way to the House of Representatives.

Republican Sen. Deidre Henderson looks on during a hearing, Feb. 10, 2020, in Salt Lake City.

Polygamy is most often considered to be a relationship between one man and multiple women, whom he claims are his wives.

Cases where an arrangement stems from threat or coercion, or occurs under fraudulent pretenses, would remain a third-degree felony.

The bill did draw criticism, with some arguing that it wouldn't do enough to protect victims in underage marriages, according to The Associated Press.

Some 30,000 people are believed to be living in polygamous communities in Utah, the AP reported. The state's Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints practiced polygamy in its early days, but abandoned and disavowed the practice in 1890.

Representatives from Utah's State or House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from ABC News.

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Utah senators unanimously pass bill to decriminalize polygamy