A legacy of polygamy on Lake Baringo’s 'island of love'

The serene, hilly, pasture-rich island is dotted with rocks and lush green vegetation, blended with the sound of hundreds of chirping birds flying from one tree to another.

The 95-acre island is among the main eight islands in Lake Baringo, including Kokwa, Samatian, Lekorosi, Rongena, Lesukut, and Longcharo.

What makes it unique is that, unlike the other islands inhabited by different families and clans from the minority Ilchamus community, this particular island is owned by one Lepiliani Lempakany, an elderly man from the minority Ilchamus community who lived there only with his family.

More than seven wives

Parmolok was later christened the ‘Island of Love’ by locals after Mzee Lepiliani married more than seven wives, built a hut for each one of them, and lived there with his more than 30 children and dozens of grandchildren.

The old man, who was both a fisherman and a pastoralist with hundreds of livestock, was held in high esteem in the pastoralist community not only for his wealth but also for his polygamous nature and his care for his many wives and children.

The man, famously known as Mzee wa Mlima Moja (the man with an island), died in September 2020 at the age of 105 and was buried on the island, leaving the land under the care of his sons.Joseph Lempakany, one of his sons who lives on the island, described his father as a gigantic man who built seven huts for his seven wives on the island. They bore him dozens of children and grandchildren, although two of his wives fled.

“Mzee was so huge that each of his wives cooked for him, and each took to a common hut which he built at the centre of the others, and he could eat all of it... he could even devour a whole cow in three days, all alone. He was also so strict that none of the women dared to differ from each other. For peace to prevail and to avoid trouble from their ‘no-nonsense husband’, they all lived together in harmony, and each of us could eat in any of the houses, even if it was not your mother’s house,” he told Nation.

According to Mr Lempakany, his father was a disciplinarian. However, despite his polygamous nature, he ensured all his wives and children lived together in harmony, which is why he built all their huts in one compound.

“My father, who was a fisherman and a pastoralist, married seven wives who all lived on this island, which he inherited from his father. He built all their houses to manage them, and they all lived in harmony. Two of his wives later fled, and five remained,” said Mr Lempakany.

Co-existed peacefully

He told Nation that when locals visited the island, they were fascinated by how Lepiliani and his five wives, along with their dozens of children, co-existed peacefully with no wrangles.

They believed that love thrived on the island owned by one man who had a soft spot for women and thus named it the Island of Love. According to Lempakany, he has more than 48 siblings, comprising 21 brothers and 28 sisters.

Lempakany lived on the island for years, with no immediate neighbours apart from the neighbouring Kokwa Island, more than four kilometres away, which also hosted social amenities like schools, health facilities, and even the chief’s office.

“My father, Lepiliani, inherited this island, which is approximately 95 acres, from his father and obtained a title deed. Apart from his house, there is no school here or any other amenities. We also have no neighbours on the island apart from our family members. Other clans live on the larger Kokwa Island, four kilometres away,” he noted.

When there was a problem, for instance, when one of their family members was sick, they could use a mirror to communicate with their neighbours on the other island to come to their rescue, using a boat to take the ailing person to the hospital.

When some of his children reached school-going age, he says, Lepiliani took them to the mainland in Meisori and enrolled them in school because there was no institution on his island. Due to old age, the old man also left the island a decade ago with two of his wives and went to the mainland in Meisori, where he later settled in Longewan village, engaging in farming and livestock keeping.

“This island is very rocky, and due to old age, our father could not cope. He resorted to settling on the mainland in Meisori village and later to Longewan. The two wives were tasked with taking care of all the children who had been relocated to the mainland for schooling, and they took care of them diligently. This move led us to view every one of our father’s wives as our mothers. This also promoted unity and love among us because we all lived and ate in any of the houses,” explained Mr Lempakany.

The owner of the island also relocated to the mainland with some of his children because he had only one canoe, which was insufficient as a means of transport for his large family.

Before Lepiliani died four years ago, he instructed his sons that, even though he had relocated to the mainland, he should be buried on the island where his life began. He also directed his sons that they should not sell any piece of the land, a directive that the sons said they have honoured.

“Most of my siblings relocated to Meisori and Longewan villages, and three of us remained to take care of the island following an agreement. We will not sell even the smallest piece of land here, as per our father’s directive. We have only leased part of it, which has hosted two tourist hotels here,” he noted.

Asman Lempakany, Lepiliani’s eldest son, said when his father was alive, he constructed one canoe, locally referred to as a Kaldich, which was mainly for his fishing and transport.

Nation learned that all of Lepiliani’s seven wives have also died, with the last one passing away in 2022.

The once-bustling island with seven wives, dozens of children, and several huts some decades ago is now silent and almost deserted, with only three houses and two tourist hotels remaining.