I married our family enemy
In Rubanga, Rukungiri district, there are two ridges separated by Rwakashenyi stream.
In Rubanga, Rukungiri district, there are two ridges separated by Rwakashenyi stream.
The ridges are home to two rivalling families, the Rubakubas on the western ridge and the Rwempakas on the other side. These are strong and rich families, with lots of cows and large expanses of land.
The rivalry between these two families was so strong that I, being from the Rubakuba family, could not even use the road that passed through the Rwempaka farmland to church, yet it was the nearest shortcut.
Matayo, our old herdsman, explained to me that the root cause of the family enmity was a great fight Mzee Rwempaka and my father had over the Rwakasheyi stream. He said Mzee Rwempaka and his sons speared four of our cows to death and almost killed my father over the stream.
However, love, they say, is boundless. Of all the beautiful girls in Rubanga, I only fell in love with a Rwempaka.
Her name was Tukamushaba and she was the third girl in the family while I was the last born. I met her at a youth seminar, organised by our church and, by then, I was at Ntare School. She was at Bweranyangi Girls School.
We kept writing letters to each other and only secretly met at church during holidays because if our parents had learnt of this, we would be dead.
One Easter Sunday, her friend, Loyce, told me Tukamushaba was sick. I knew it was risky to go and see her but because of my love for her, I dared to go to their home. That night, I jumped over the hedge that fenced off Rwempaka’s house. I crawled under the cover of the thick flowers to her open window and saw Tukamushaba combing her hair.
On seeing me, she was immediately terrified at the possibility of being discovered with me. We had just talked for a few minutes when Mzee Rwempaka himself came to find out whom his daughter was speaking to.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me as four dogs fiercely pursued me down the hill. My shirt was trapped and abandoned at the barbed wire fence as I jumped over the hedge and ran down to the valley that separated our hill from theirs. With dogs on my heels, I dived into the stream and swam to our side.
But it was worth it. Today, Tukamushaba is my wife and mother of my three kids.
As told to Brenda Auma Kenyonyoozi
The ridges are home to two rivalling families, the Rubakubas on the western ridge and the Rwempakas on the other side. These are strong and rich families, with lots of cows and large expanses of land.
The rivalry between these two families was so strong that I, being from the Rubakuba family, could not even use the road that passed through the Rwempaka farmland to church, yet it was the nearest shortcut.
Matayo, our old herdsman, explained to me that the root cause of the family enmity was a great fight Mzee Rwempaka and my father had over the Rwakasheyi stream. He said Mzee Rwempaka and his sons speared four of our cows to death and almost killed my father over the stream.
However, love, they say, is boundless. Of all the beautiful girls in Rubanga, I only fell in love with a Rwempaka.
Her name was Tukamushaba and she was the third girl in the family while I was the last born. I met her at a youth seminar, organised by our church and, by then, I was at Ntare School. She was at Bweranyangi Girls School.
We kept writing letters to each other and only secretly met at church during holidays because if our parents had learnt of this, we would be dead.
One Easter Sunday, her friend, Loyce, told me Tukamushaba was sick. I knew it was risky to go and see her but because of my love for her, I dared to go to their home. That night, I jumped over the hedge that fenced off Rwempaka’s house. I crawled under the cover of the thick flowers to her open window and saw Tukamushaba combing her hair.
On seeing me, she was immediately terrified at the possibility of being discovered with me. We had just talked for a few minutes when Mzee Rwempaka himself came to find out whom his daughter was speaking to.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me as four dogs fiercely pursued me down the hill. My shirt was trapped and abandoned at the barbed wire fence as I jumped over the hedge and ran down to the valley that separated our hill from theirs. With dogs on my heels, I dived into the stream and swam to our side.
But it was worth it. Today, Tukamushaba is my wife and mother of my three kids.
As told to Brenda Auma Kenyonyoozi