Australian accuses Ebonies star of ''detoothing'' him

By Nicholas O’Neal and Charles Etukuri
 
Hardly two years after Shanita Namuyimbwa aka Bad Black was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison for stealing her white boyfriend’s money and property, a similar case is unfolding.

This time round, the complainant is an Australian national, Neville Stevens.

When Stevens met pretty Sandra Ssempagala Nakimera, a former Ebonies actress in Dubai on a plane, he fell in love with her.

After dating for a short while, Nakimera suggested that Stevens meets her family in Kampala.

“Preparations were made and I even spoke to my in-laws on phone. I was excited,” Stevens told the Police in a statement.

Stevens was married in Australia and even though he shared his marital status with Nakimera, she told him the function was a traditional event that would not affect his first marriage. Convinced that the relationship would work, Stevens withdrew his savings and flew in.

“I spent over $7,500 on the fake introduction (kwanjula),” he says. The ceremony was at a guest house in Mutungo, Kampala.

Stevens says he bought a Toyota Noah for Nakimera’s mother, 24 cows and gifts for other relatives.

“The ceremony was in Luganda. I didn’t know what was going on, but kept nodding my head in approval. I was in love,” Stevens says.
The couple then got a house in Bunga, where they moved in.

But after two years the marriage hit the rocks. That was not all. One day, Stevens returned to an empty home. “I found everything missing, even the security bulbs plus the kitchen broom. She had brought in a truck and loaded everything that I had bought,” he says.

He reported the case to Kabalagala Police Station. He accused her of taking off with a camera worth $1,500 (about sh3.75m), a black Range Rover worth millions, imported furniture, his travel documents and laptop, among others.

The OC CIID Kabalagala Police Station admitted handling the file but refused to divulge details. “I am not at liberty to discuss with you,” he OC CID said.

With the help of a telecom company, Nakimera was traced.

Stevens says Nakimera had promised him heaven on earth and in turn he opened for her two shops at Pioneer Mall and a restaurant in Kabalagala, which she has sold off without telling him.

When contacted for her side of the story, Nakimera only said in Luganda “tontawanya”,  meaning, ‘please do not disturb me’, before hanging up.

She has filed a case at the family court, seeking maintenance costs on grounds that her and Stevens are traditionally married. “She says I married her in the African way, but we do not have a child,” Stevens says.