IT looked like any other wedding in Kampala. The music played. The Master of Ceremonies welcomed the guests who handed over their gifts. The couple cut the wedding cake and served each other champagne. And the entire party wined and dined and danced up to midnight. But something was missing.
The groom and bride-to-be had not exchanged their marriage vows. Earlier, at All Saints Cathedral, they had been sent away at the altar when the man’s jilted lover, through a court order, blocked the ceremony.
Bosco Gitta Kasirye was set to wed his long-time fiancée, Jane Nakubulwa, with whom he has three children, in a ceremony on Saturday afternoon.
But the ceremony was blocked by Kasirye’s ex-fiancée Ruth Namirembe, who is also the mother of two of his children.
Kasirye is a mathematics teacher at Lubiri Secondary School in Kampala, while Nakubulwa teaches at Kibuuka Memorial Secondary School in Mpigi district. The jilted lover, Namirembe, is a bursar at Bishop’s Secondary School in Mukono.
A guest who attended the flopped church service said: “We waited for close to forty minutes and the ceremony had not kicked off. Then a Reverend came in and delivered the news that the wedding could not go ahead.”
As others were waiting to be wed, the couple, their witnesses and entourage left the cathedral amid wailing and protests.
The reception, nevertheless, went ahead as if nothing had happened. The bridal entourage arrived at the Gaba Beach gardens to lukewarm cheering.
The Master of Ceremonies, Radio One presenter Simon Kaggwa, tried to brighten up the mood by downplaying the incident. As the alcohol flowed and the music got louder, the mood among the crowd, which included education permanent secretary Francis Lubanga, shifted to one of excitement and merry-making.
Draped in a party white gown, the bride occasionally smiled at the guests. The groom, dressed in a navy-blue suit, appeared calm.
Kasirye and Nakubulwa had been living together. But Nakubulwa’s failure to conceive compelled Kasirye, with Nakubulwa’s consent, to get another wife, with whom he had two children.
When Nakubulwa eventually conceived, Kasirye decided to walk her down the aisle, much to the displeasure of Namirembe, who effectively spoiled the event.
Namirembe had allegedly demanded Kasirye to forfeit a house in Namugongo and transfer it in her name as a precondition for the wedding. The Provost of All Saints Cathedral, the Rev. Canon Stephen Tirwomwe, refused to discuss the matter over the phone and said he had other commitments.
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