On April 30, 2008, Joram Insigoma Katusiime and Jonathan Kato Kyomuhendo were born to Lillian Naduli and Johnson Katushabe at Jinja Hospital.

She had a smooth pregnancy and managed to continue teaching until the last day, but the delivery was not easy.

“Katusiime came out early, but the doctors said they would have to operate on me for Kyomuhendo,” Naduli says.

For close to three hours, Kyomuhendo was stuck in his mother’s womb.

“The nurse had induced me and nothing more could be done except pray. They told me that the uterus would rapture if they added me more medication,” she recalls.

As she waited for the doctor to arrive, Naduli says the labour ward turned into a prayer room.

“People were praying for me and by God’s grace, Kyomuhendo came out,” she says.

While other parents find it hard to adjust to life with twins, this was not the case for Naduli. Fortunately, the twins have also had a normal life since they do not often fall ill.

Identical

Naduli recalls that Katusiime fell sick once with malaria and had to get a blood transfusion. He has not fallen sick again.

Katusiime and Kyomuhendo are identical. Their mother says it is difficult to distinguish them.

“Many people confuse one for the other. It is only their father and I who can tell them apart,” Naduli says.

Parenting twins

While some parents decry raising twins because of the expenses, Naduli says it is not a challenge. Perhaps, for single parents, Naduli says they may find raising twins costly.

“Parents who work together can raise them,” she says.

Naduli says her husband has been her rock and the support of the family.

In addition, Naduli has enjoyed being with her twins so much so that if given the chance, she would want to have another pair.

“My twins are first, followed by Jeremiah Kugonza. I ask God if He is going to give me twins again; they should be girls and then I will be done with giving birth,” she says.

The twins

Katusiime says he is proud to be a twin. Unlike other twins, he says he never plays tricks on people.

“However, it is the people who confuse us because we resemble a lot. Sometimes, if someone calls one of us, we both go and they do not know what to do,” he says.

Katusiime already shares a strong bond with his brother, Kyomuhendo.

“I feel bad when we are not together; I want to be with him all the time,” he says.

Kyomuhendo says life is only interesting when Katusiime is around.

“I can never get bored when I am with my brother,” Kyomuhendo says.