Who says I can’t marry many wives?

• Wanjala leads MPs in declaring the number of women in their lives

Polygamy is the way to go. That seemed to be the top message former assistant minister Raphael Wanjala had for his Budalang’i constituency supporters during a homecoming rally on Sunday.

And for the first time in public, Mr Wanjala said he was having an affair with Ms Joyce Akinyi — whom he referred to as Teresa — under customary law, and asked the media to keep off his private life.

Mr Wanjala said any 18-year-old Kenyan had a right to marry a woman of his choice without being condemned, adding that the law allowed a man to marry under church, customary and AG’s chambers.

Outside marriage

“Kenyatta had five wives. The father of US president Barack Obama had several wives. I can marry as many wives as I want. No man can claim he does not have a girlfriend outside marriage,” he declared.

The former MP added that President Obama’s mother was the third and her son became the US president, arguing that leadership is not about how many wives one had.

Mr Wanjala added that in 1997, he had two wives and that did not stop him from being Budalang’i MP He insisted that his relationship with Ms Akinyi was not unusual.

“I did not meet an underage girl. I did not rape her. I talked to her and she accepted me and therefore the media should stay away from my private life,” he said amidst cheers.

His wives Josephine and Veronica were not present. And Ms Akinyi, who had eagerly been expected to grace the occasion, did not show up.

Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo also later said he had three wives, and polygamy should not be trivialised.

Feeling, perhaps, that he had done justice to polygamy as a legitimate institution, Mr Wanjala turned to his stint behind bars in an Indian jail. He told residents how he was arrested while carrying Sh12 million in India, insisting that he was on a business trip.

At the start, there was confusion after it emerged that the provincial administration had cancelled the meeting and sent three lorries full of riot police from Kakamega.

Area DC Mabeya Mogaka said he was not aware that the meeting had been banned and after some hours the anti-riot police from Kakamega left Port Victoria.

Police on the ground who talked to Nation on condition of anonymity said some hate SMSs had been sent to the provincial administration warning of bloodshed if the meeting was allowed to go on. However, the meeting ended peacefully.

Being a politician, Mr Wanjala did not end matters with the jail story. He asked politicians to stop 2012 succession politics and concentrate on improving the lives of Kenyans.

But birds of a feather tend to flock together. MPs Cyrus Jirongo (Lugari), Wakoli Bifwoli (Bumula), Eugene Wamalwa (Saboti) and former Webuye MP Saulo Busolo quickly concurred, saying political squabbles were creating a bad impression of the country and keeping off investors.

The Bumula MP accused some politicians for taking the President and the Prime Minister hostage at the expense of serving Kenyans.

Mr Jirongo accused the Government of selling public resources and parastatals to finance its activities and wondered what they would sell in future to build roads.