Njombe (Tanzania) - When Mzee Ernesto Muinuchi Kapinga (86) walks around his village, it is rather unusual to run into someone who is not married or related to him. To say that the man from Tanzania has been more than diligent in starting a family over the past six decades seems almost an understatement ...

Kapinga married for the first time in 1961 and had his first child a year later. At his father's request, he continued to expand his family. Today, he is married to a total of 20 women.

He has fathered 104 children with his partners to date. But it didn't stop there. According to News18 , the 86-year-old now has an incredible 144 grandchildren.

Of his wives, 16 women are still alive, including seven sisters. The family lives in the Njombe region in southern Tanzania.

Each woman has her own house in the village, but they all work and eat together. The family village is well organized and the meals are said to be like a feast every time because of the quantities involved.

The fact that Kapinga has founded such a large family is mainly down to his father.

After his first marriage, his father encouraged him to marry other women and even offered him a dowry. Five of his marriages were therefore financed by his father, while he arranged the other 15 himself.

When asked why the women got involved in such a crazy family constellation, it is said that the 86-year-old had a very good reputation and "admirable qualities". His partners describe him as a fair and understanding man who is happy to listen to them.

Jealousy would not be an issue due to the well-structured daily routine, especially because each woman has her own accommodation. "It's not just a home, it's a system, and it works," explains Kapinga proudly, according to Global South World . If conflicts do arise, the women have no problem resolving them among themselves.

The Kapinga family is now self-sufficient thanks to their agriculture. Corn, beans and bananas are grown in the fields and livestock is also bred.

The 86-year-old occasionally forgets the names of his children, which is hardly surprising when there are 104 of them . A total of 40 descendants have died in recent decades due to accidents or health problems.

Even though he is considered the head of the family, the 86-year-old knows who really "wears the pants": "This family is run by the women; I'm only here to guide them."