Woman drags lover to police over failed introduction

By Phiona Nanyomo

MASAKA - A woman has dragged her lover to police after her parents organised an introduction ceremony for him and he never showed up.

The complainant, Annet Namukwaya, 22, said her parents had organised an introduction ceremony and invited relatives and friends, only for the boyfriend, Mathias Kalema, 25, not to show up.

Namukwaya, accompanied by her parents to police want Kalema to refund over sh2m as costs incurred in preparation for the function.

They told police on the fateful day, on a sunny March 16 Sunday morning, they awoke excited and in high spirits as they prepared to receive their new in-law.

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Kalema in handcuffs at police

The home was basking in activity as an assortment of food, including rice and chicken, was prepared. Hired tents were erected in the neatly cleared compound.

A sound system hired from one of the nearby towns was set up and everything was in high gear as expectant relatives and friends braced themselves for the historic day.

The young folk at home were bathed thoroughly and the best wear, usually reserved for festive seasons was adorned all in an effort to impress in-laws.

The grief stricken parents, who kept consoling their heart broken daughter as they narrated their story, told police that Kalema would have to atone for the embarrassment he caused their family.

Bemused police officers listened in as the narration continued. The parents said when the agreed hour for the groom to be approached, excitement reached fever peak as the charged DJ meted out favourite hits themed with the function.

However, as hour after another ticked by, with anxious residents, mistaking every sound in the distance for an oncoming vehicle, presumably the long awaited visitors, frustration began to kick in, and gradually it took a psychological toll on their daughter.

By sunset, Namukwaya said, they were the joke being told around the whole village.

"He told me he would come on Sunday and we prepared knowing he would come with an entourage, but he never showed up," a teary Namukwaya narrated while at Buwungu police station in Masaka where Kalema is being held.

She said that on Friday, two days before the big day, the couple had spent the evening having a good time and had spent the night together. Kalema then promised he would pick her the following day so she would plait her hair in preparation for her big day. However he still did not turn up.

Residents though say that Kalema instead was introduced elsewhere and even gave the girl an engagement ring. Kalema, a trader who also moonlights as a bodaboda rider told police he was ready to have Namukwaya as his second wife and pledged to pay sh500,000 to the parents as dowry.

The Masaka CID boss, Frank Ntankovu, said the case is registered on file number SD:13/18/03/14.