Benjamin Ayimba: One husband, one roof, four breathing wives!

Nicknamed ‘Father Abraham’, rugby legend was blessed with a ‘promiscuous gene variant’

By Undercover Reporter

He lived under one roof with his four breathing wives. That is quite a domestic tackle, but Kenya’s best rugby tackler-the late Benjamin Ayimba-was up to the scrum.

The ragger legend, nicknamed ‘Father Abraham’ succumbed to cerebral malaria at the Kenyatta National Hospital on Friday, May 21. Ayimba, one of 10 children from two different women, was 45.

Most men from polygamous families tend to take the monogamy route; one wife, two kids and a Chihuahua. Not so for Ayimba. Never mind living with four women-who never grew up together-and there was no reason they should have grown up together, had its fair share of box kicks, crash tackles, blind sides, knock-ons and conversions.

Third wife didn’t fancy the communal living and dragged Ayimba to court

Then there were the dramas of an arrangement comprising one hubby, one roof and four breathing wives. The third wife, Frabrica Awuor didn’t fancy the communal living and dragged Ayimba to court as Kenyans celebrated the Christmas of 2019.  
Frabrica first met Ayimba in 2009, the year Kenya dramatically reached the World Series semi-finals of the Adelaide Sevens in Australia.

Ayimba met Frabrica from a through pass by Godwin Aswani, the cousin to Ayimba’s second wife, Caroline Waswa. They fell in love, got married but Frabrica was kinda shocked when Ayimba took her to his house in South C  where Caroline was also living.

Second and third wives took care of each other’s children, besides comfortably sharing their famous husband

According to court documents, both even took care of each other’s children, besides comfortably sharing their famous husband who was in December 2010 decorated by President Mwai Kibaki with the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) award.

After 10 years of ‘African socialism’ she had had enough. A fourth woman brought tension. She couldn’t share a house with Moraa and thus moved houses from South C to Donholm and on to Sunset Boulevard estate, Athi River.

Ayimba, a devout Catholic, third wife told the court, had abandoned leading to eviction and auctions

Frabrica thus went to court praying that the man who began playing rugby at Form Three in Maseno School in 1993 be compelled to provide for her, and their two children.

After all, Ayimba, a devout Catholic, had abandoned her in 2018 and she was demanding Sh150, 000 as one-month rent (Sh50,000) and two-month deposit (Sh100,000) as they had been evicted from Sunset Boulevard, household goods auctioned.

She paraded Ayimba’s six vehicles as evidence of forays in gaming and printing businesses

Ayimba told the court that his life had gone south financially. At the time of the court case, he said he only earned Sh40, 000 as assistant coach at Kenya Harlequins and Frabrica’s demands were thus beyond his pay grade. Could she sell the Mercedes to make ends meet? Awuor paraded Ayimba’s six vehicles, evidence of forays in gaming and printing businesses as proof he could foot her demands.

There is no one in a polygamous marriage who can claim to be happy

Ayimba’s kind of polygamy in 21^st century Kenya got sociologists, family therapists and counselors giving their two cents. Most argued that a woman allows a dude to marry another woman if they have invested too much in finances, love, children, social status.  

With four wives, it appears Ayimba was blessed with the DRD4 Gene variant which the late sociologist Ken Ouko said was responsible for “uncommitted sex and promiscuity.”

Benjamin Ayimba Otieno, father of seven, rest in power, bro!