16-year old girl claims Kazini paternity
Jun 02, 2010
A 16-year-old girl who claims to be a daughter of the late Maj. Gen. James Kazini is stranded at the Central Police Station in Kampala. Lukuresha Mbabazi, also known as Christine Nabukeera, reportedly travelled from Mubende district to try to link up with the family of Kazini in Kampala.
By Eddie Ssejjoba
A 16-year-old girl who claims to be a daughter of the late Maj. Gen. James Kazini is stranded at the Central Police Station in Kampala.
Lukuresha Mbabazi, also known as Christine Nabukeera, reportedly travelled from Mubende district to try to link up with the family of Kazini in Kampala.
According to the Police, Mbabazi travelled to Kampala with the assistance of some unidentified people, who reportedly dropped her at the Natete Police post on Monday evening.
The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman, Henry Kalulu, said they were trying to verify her claims.
“We are trying to get in touch with Kazini’s family. If it is confirmed that she is a daughter, we shall hand her over because as Police we have an obligation to help her,†he said.
Mbabazi, who broke down and cried while at the CPS, said she had been staying with a foster grandmother, Nassozi, of Kalembe village in Mubende district.
She claimed that her father used to visit her in Mubende and told her that her mother used to stay in Namasuba but died when she was three years old.
“He told me he could not take me to his home,†Mbabazi told the Police.
She said Kazini’s aides also used to take financial assistance to her but said when Kazini died, some men told her ‘grandmother’ not to inform her about his death.
“I learnt about his death when I was watching television at a neighbour’s home. I asked my grandmother to allow me go for burial, but she declined to let me go, saying some men had refused her from going,†she narrated.
Mbabazi said her father never told her the name of her mother or any maternal relative. She said Nassozi recently fell sick and was picked by her relatives. But before she went, she asked her to go to Kampala and join her family.
“She gave me some money for transport and asked some taxi men who were coming to Kampala to drop me at Natete Police post,†Mbabazi explained.
The child and family protection unit boss, Cate Nandi, said they would begin on the process of linking the girl to the family.
When contacted over the matter, Juliet Kyomugisha, Kazini’s eldest daughter, told The New Vision that her father left a Will where he listed the names of his children.
She said there was another list of children not mentioned in the Will her father wrote.
Kyomugisha said Mbabazi is not mentioned anywhere in her father’s Will or even on the additional list and would, therefore, not be accepted in the family.
“Even after writing his Will, my father gave birth to more children and wrote them down and our lawyer knows it,†Kyomugisha explained.
She said even before their father died, there were women who took children to him, claiming he was the father, but such children were subjected to DNA tests.
Kyomugisha said some of those he rejected returned to the family after his death, claiming they were his children.
She noted that many people were taking advantage of her late father’s good heart to claim he was their father.
“My father had a good heart and helped many children of his friends,†she said, adding that her family had mandated her to speak on its behalf.
A 16-year-old girl who claims to be a daughter of the late Maj. Gen. James Kazini is stranded at the Central Police Station in Kampala.
Lukuresha Mbabazi, also known as Christine Nabukeera, reportedly travelled from Mubende district to try to link up with the family of Kazini in Kampala.
According to the Police, Mbabazi travelled to Kampala with the assistance of some unidentified people, who reportedly dropped her at the Natete Police post on Monday evening.
The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman, Henry Kalulu, said they were trying to verify her claims.
“We are trying to get in touch with Kazini’s family. If it is confirmed that she is a daughter, we shall hand her over because as Police we have an obligation to help her,†he said.
Mbabazi, who broke down and cried while at the CPS, said she had been staying with a foster grandmother, Nassozi, of Kalembe village in Mubende district.
She claimed that her father used to visit her in Mubende and told her that her mother used to stay in Namasuba but died when she was three years old.
“He told me he could not take me to his home,†Mbabazi told the Police.
She said Kazini’s aides also used to take financial assistance to her but said when Kazini died, some men told her ‘grandmother’ not to inform her about his death.
“I learnt about his death when I was watching television at a neighbour’s home. I asked my grandmother to allow me go for burial, but she declined to let me go, saying some men had refused her from going,†she narrated.
Mbabazi said her father never told her the name of her mother or any maternal relative. She said Nassozi recently fell sick and was picked by her relatives. But before she went, she asked her to go to Kampala and join her family.
“She gave me some money for transport and asked some taxi men who were coming to Kampala to drop me at Natete Police post,†Mbabazi explained.
The child and family protection unit boss, Cate Nandi, said they would begin on the process of linking the girl to the family.
When contacted over the matter, Juliet Kyomugisha, Kazini’s eldest daughter, told The New Vision that her father left a Will where he listed the names of his children.
She said there was another list of children not mentioned in the Will her father wrote.
Kyomugisha said Mbabazi is not mentioned anywhere in her father’s Will or even on the additional list and would, therefore, not be accepted in the family.
“Even after writing his Will, my father gave birth to more children and wrote them down and our lawyer knows it,†Kyomugisha explained.
She said even before their father died, there were women who took children to him, claiming he was the father, but such children were subjected to DNA tests.
Kyomugisha said some of those he rejected returned to the family after his death, claiming they were his children.
She noted that many people were taking advantage of her late father’s good heart to claim he was their father.
“My father had a good heart and helped many children of his friends,†she said, adding that her family had mandated her to speak on its behalf.