In Muslim culture, a man can take up to three wives as long as he can afford to provide for three families – and as long as he has permission from his first wife. Often, the man marries one woman, then eventually takes a second and later a third wife.
But one man in Uganda decided to marry three wives at the same time to save money on wedding costs, saying he can’t afford to have three different weddings! Hmmm. Maybe he should have just taken one wife if he can’t afford to have many?
Yet it seems that he loves all these ladies equally so that 50-year-old Mohammed Ssemanda thought he should just marry them all in one wedding. Some netizens think that he’s probably trying to make up for lost time as he is already 50 years old when he finally decided to get married.
Photo credit: Watchdog Uganda
Ssemanda was identified as a vendor at the Wakiso district in Katabi, Uganda. And while he pushed the limits of Muslim law with the triple wives in one wedding, it turned out that he was actually married to one of the ladies for a long time.
The 48-year-old bride Salmat Naluwugge has been married to Ssemanda for 20 years. They have five children together.
When Ssemanda met the two younger ladies, identified as sisters 27-year-old Jameo Nakayiza and 24-year-old Mastulah Namwanje, he fell in love with both. He asked permission from Naluwugge who agreed to the union as she gets along with the younger ladies, anyway.
Proving that he still loves her so much, Ssemanda invited Naluwugge to join in the ceremony to make this a triple wedding – well, a wedding for one groom and three wives, anyway. Naluwugge felt honored and happy with her husband’s suggestion, saying that this is proof enough that Ssemanda loves them all and will treat them equally.
Check out this video: