Big family man gives Father’s Day advice

WAKING up to a cup of coffee and breakfast made with love, accompanied by tiny little hands wrapping themselves around Dad’s face is any man’s recipe for a well-spent Fathers’ Day.

Ahead of the day, South Coast businessman Musa Mseleku, husband to four wives and father to 10 children, has encouraged fathers who have not had the best relationships with their children to focus on improving these relationships.

“I always say I don’t want us to be absent as fathers and husbands, we must not shift the responsibility of being a father to money.

“Having money doesn’t mean fatherhood – it’s having the time for your children and being a parent that’s important,” he said.

The Mselekus have had two seasons of their reality show uthando nesthembu (Love and Polygamy) aired on Dstv’s Mzansi Magic.

Mseleku says lessons such as ubuntu and understanding the world can’t be bought with money.

“I urge fathers to return home and be present. Go home and spend time with your children.”

He will be at home tomorrow, but is not sure what is planned. “I heard that the little ones are going to make me cards, so I look forward to that. It makes me happy to be in this position as a father, it warms my heart.”

He said his children are the reason he “wakes up every morning” and is motivated to work harder to be able to provide them with what they need.

“These are my people (his children), they came from me and they are a part of me. And when they show that they need me, it makes me happy to be there for them in every way.”

As a man who is entrenched in his Zulu culture, Mseleku spends time with his sons in a different way. “When I have to talk to them seriously about things that concern being upstanding men, I spend time with them herding.

“Sometimes I also take them to traditional functions where they get to learn about our rituals and culture first hand from me.”

He said this was important so that they too can pass on the knowledge to their children.

“I also spend time with my girls. While there are things that, as a man, I can’t talk to them about, I also make time to listen and talk to them. It is important that I listen to them so that they may feel comfortable coming to talk to me.”