Hotels were full, Nyakaana offered me his room
Dec 26, 2008
Like the Biblical Joseph and Mary, Sarah Kizito came to New York and failed to get a room to stay. Then Godfrey Nyakaana offered her his pad. And the love was born.
Like the Biblical Joseph and Mary, Sarah Kizito came to New York and failed to get a room to stay. Then Godfrey Nyakaana offered her his pad. And the love was born.
Kizito, the proprietor of Lady Charlotte, a bridal shop located on Hotel Equatoria, is now wife to Nyakaana, the chairman Kampala Central Division. She spoke to Rehema Aanyu about their relationship.
How did you meet your husband? I met Godfrey in 1997 in Washington DC. This was after the American Convention and Afrigo Band was playing. I was chatting with my niece when he spotted me from across the room. He walked over with a friend and asked me to dance. I bluntly told him I do not dance with strangers and thus ignored him. My niece then told me he was a star boxer, but I was not interested.
Then in June 1998, while at a friend’s shop at Hotel Equatoria, I met him again. This time I was friendly because my niece had told me that he had kept asking about me. We talked. I told him where I work and the following day he came for a hair cut. He kept coming for hair cuts everyday and we always chatted. Then one day while I was moving out of the shop, he asked me for a ride. I accepted and it was during that ride that I actually felt something between us.
Did you move in with him straight away? Oh no. We coincidently met again on the plane. I was flying to London then and he was flying straight to New York. When I had finished my business in London, I flew to New York and even though I had not communicated to him the day or time I was to arrive, he was at the airport waiting for me. I am glad he was there because I failed to get a hotel to stay in because they were all booked.
Nyakaana invited me to his pad, sacrificed his bedroom for me. He was a perfect gentleman. When he came back to Uganda, we began living together.
You didn’t fear the fact that he was a boxer? I was against him boxing and it bothered me a lot that he made his money by hitting people. I expressed my feelings to him…. actually it was a condition that he would have to quit boxing. He told me he was also thinking of retiring. He said he wanted to come back home and pursue a career in politics. So after his last fight in Maryland, in the US, he came back and we stayed together.
How about his faith? He was not a Muslim! Just before the holy month of Ramadhan in 1999, I moved to another bedroom because we could not share the same bedroom. We were unmarried. This is what we had done during Ramadhan of 1998. This time he proposed and we married in a mosque I put up in Kisenyi-Kiganda. The mosque is called Masjid Sarah.
You married a non Muslim in a mosque! Oh no. He actually converted to Islam before we tied the knot. He loves Islam.
The year we stayed together, he got involved in Islam. He was so comfortable in it. He told me he wanted to convert. So we went to the mosque and he proclaimed his ashahadu (oath to Allah and Prophet Muhammad).
What did you ask for Mahr (brideprice)? I asked for sh100,000 because I did not want to make it difficult for him. Besides this, I did not really need the money from him. I just asked for something comfortable and he paid it, though he asked me later why I had not asked for more.
Ten years in marriage; anything you would change? If I had my way, I would uproot politics out of our lives. I do not like him involved in politics because it is very stressful. But then, as a wife I have to respect the fact that this is a path he chose.
He is popular among girls. Doesn’t this bother you? To be honest, no woman gives her husband liberty to play around but all men play around anyway. We have to accept that all men cheat. I wouldn’t say I allow him to play around but I know it happens. Men cheat. This is a fact that women have to learn to live with. So as long as he is careful, respects me and gives me my time when we are supposed to be together… (she shrugs)
Does he get jealous when men find you attractive? He gets a bit insecure at times but I am a very honest woman. I would not cheat on my husband.
Do you freely check each other’s phone messages? I have nothing to hide. I would not mind him going through my phonebook or reading my messages. And I am sure he would not mind me doing the same to his phone. My husband and I are very good friends.
What would you do if he cheated on you? (Laughs hard) I would be very very mad. But then what can I do? I am sure he would stop the minute I know about the relationship. He is my good friend and I know he wouldn’t want to hurt me.
Would you fight your rival? (Laughs hard again) Somebody would really have to provoke me so much to fight them because I do not remember the last time I ever fought in my life. But if she really made me angry, I guess I would tear her into pieces.
Kizito, the proprietor of Lady Charlotte, a bridal shop located on Hotel Equatoria, is now wife to Nyakaana, the chairman Kampala Central Division. She spoke to Rehema Aanyu about their relationship.
How did you meet your husband? I met Godfrey in 1997 in Washington DC. This was after the American Convention and Afrigo Band was playing. I was chatting with my niece when he spotted me from across the room. He walked over with a friend and asked me to dance. I bluntly told him I do not dance with strangers and thus ignored him. My niece then told me he was a star boxer, but I was not interested.
Then in June 1998, while at a friend’s shop at Hotel Equatoria, I met him again. This time I was friendly because my niece had told me that he had kept asking about me. We talked. I told him where I work and the following day he came for a hair cut. He kept coming for hair cuts everyday and we always chatted. Then one day while I was moving out of the shop, he asked me for a ride. I accepted and it was during that ride that I actually felt something between us.
Did you move in with him straight away? Oh no. We coincidently met again on the plane. I was flying to London then and he was flying straight to New York. When I had finished my business in London, I flew to New York and even though I had not communicated to him the day or time I was to arrive, he was at the airport waiting for me. I am glad he was there because I failed to get a hotel to stay in because they were all booked.
Nyakaana invited me to his pad, sacrificed his bedroom for me. He was a perfect gentleman. When he came back to Uganda, we began living together.
You didn’t fear the fact that he was a boxer? I was against him boxing and it bothered me a lot that he made his money by hitting people. I expressed my feelings to him…. actually it was a condition that he would have to quit boxing. He told me he was also thinking of retiring. He said he wanted to come back home and pursue a career in politics. So after his last fight in Maryland, in the US, he came back and we stayed together.
How about his faith? He was not a Muslim! Just before the holy month of Ramadhan in 1999, I moved to another bedroom because we could not share the same bedroom. We were unmarried. This is what we had done during Ramadhan of 1998. This time he proposed and we married in a mosque I put up in Kisenyi-Kiganda. The mosque is called Masjid Sarah.
You married a non Muslim in a mosque! Oh no. He actually converted to Islam before we tied the knot. He loves Islam.
The year we stayed together, he got involved in Islam. He was so comfortable in it. He told me he wanted to convert. So we went to the mosque and he proclaimed his ashahadu (oath to Allah and Prophet Muhammad).
What did you ask for Mahr (brideprice)? I asked for sh100,000 because I did not want to make it difficult for him. Besides this, I did not really need the money from him. I just asked for something comfortable and he paid it, though he asked me later why I had not asked for more.
Ten years in marriage; anything you would change? If I had my way, I would uproot politics out of our lives. I do not like him involved in politics because it is very stressful. But then, as a wife I have to respect the fact that this is a path he chose.
He is popular among girls. Doesn’t this bother you? To be honest, no woman gives her husband liberty to play around but all men play around anyway. We have to accept that all men cheat. I wouldn’t say I allow him to play around but I know it happens. Men cheat. This is a fact that women have to learn to live with. So as long as he is careful, respects me and gives me my time when we are supposed to be together… (she shrugs)
Does he get jealous when men find you attractive? He gets a bit insecure at times but I am a very honest woman. I would not cheat on my husband.
Do you freely check each other’s phone messages? I have nothing to hide. I would not mind him going through my phonebook or reading my messages. And I am sure he would not mind me doing the same to his phone. My husband and I are very good friends.
What would you do if he cheated on you? (Laughs hard) I would be very very mad. But then what can I do? I am sure he would stop the minute I know about the relationship. He is my good friend and I know he wouldn’t want to hurt me.
Would you fight your rival? (Laughs hard again) Somebody would really have to provoke me so much to fight them because I do not remember the last time I ever fought in my life. But if she really made me angry, I guess I would tear her into pieces.