Most Kenyans Dating Multiple Lovers, Survey Shows

One out of four Kenyan adults are in a relationship with more than one partner, a new survey indicates.

In a survey carried out by by research firm Consumer Insight and whose results were released on Wednesday, at least 24 per cent of the Kenyans surveyed and said they are in relationship owned up to dating more than one lover.

Although the study failed to specify the gender most likely to engage in multiple relationships, about 1.2 million adult individuals out of the 24 per cent who are dating have been projected as dating several lovers.

Associate Research Director at Consumer Insights, Ms Ruth Ruigu said the latest findings indicate there is an increase in the number of those dating multiple partners.

The findings could vindicate Kiambu Woman Representative Gathoni wa Muchomba, who this week called on Kenyan men to adopt polygamy as a means of eliminating cases where children are raised without fathers (READ: Kiambu Women Rep Gathoni Wamuchomba Wants Rich Kikuyu Men to Marry Many Wives).

Gathoni said that polygamy is the solution to the increased number of single mothers and children growing without fathers.

“Some of us were raised by fathers in polygamous families who did a good job and we grew up into responsible adults.

"What could be the crime in allowing polygamy as a solution to the problem of the many abandoned street children and even troubled individuals in families growing up without fathers?” she posed.

 24 per cent of respondents interviewed in the survey confessed to having multiple sexual partners, an increase from previous trends.

“A whopping 77 per cent are sexually active, and it is worth noting that the youth and the upper classes are the most sexually adventurous category of Kenyans,” Ms Ruigu said at a press briefing in Nairobi.