Marry more than one wife or face jail – Swaziland’s King Mswati orders

King Mswati III of Swaziland has declared in Mbabane Swaziland that men will from June 2019 be required to marry at least two or more wives or be jailed if they fail to do so.

The king, who has 15 wives and 25 children, while his father and predecessor has more than 70 wives and 150+ children, noted that there are more women than men in Swaziland which he says is a very serious problem for a country, which is known to be full of virgins.

According to IHarare, men from Swaziland are therefore required and expected to take more wives so that every woman gets a husband.

In a statement, king Mswati called for all men in the country to marry at least five wives and the government assured the men that it would pay for the marriage ceremonies and buy houses for them.

King Mswati warned that any man or woman who opposes the decision “will face a life sentence”.