Mother declines cash to marry off P.6 daughter
Nov 01, 2014
A 37-year-old woman from eastern Uganda is the talk of the town after she rejected sh602,000 from a suitor who wanted to marry her daughter.
Saturday Vision
Tom Gwebayanga
KAMULI - A 37-year-old woman from eastern Uganda is the talk of the town after she rejected sh602,000 from a suitor who wanted to marry her daughter.
The girl is a minor in Primary Six. Babirye Kasuubo, despite her poverty, declined the offer because she wants her daughter to stay in school and grow up to become a responsible citizen.
Kasuubo , a single mother from Kiige village, Balawoli in Kamuli district, separated with her husband, Richard Basoga, 12 years ago and earns her living by growing maize, beans and millet.
For her refusal to marry off her daughter, village drunkards, especially, have taken to laughing at her and referring to her as a “foolish woman”.
How it happened
Apparently, Kasuubo’s daughter was on her way back from school when she met John Odongo, 25. He gave her an envelope and told her it contained a “very sweet message” for her mother.
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Pupils of Kigge Primary School walking to class. PHOTO/Tom Gwebayanga
Pupils of Kigge Primary School walking to class. PHOTO/Tom Gwebayanga
According to David Bandese, a crime preventer in Balawoli, Odongo is a fisherman who dropped out of school in Primary Five.
“I tried to refuse the envelope, but he insisted. He snatched my bag and forced the envelope into it and warned me not to lose it,” the girl said.
She obediently brought the envelope to her mother and on receiving the letter, Kasuubo cross-examined her daughter, trying to establish if there was anything between her and Odongo.
The girl said there was nothing between them.
Kasuubo took the envelope to the girl’s headmaster, Joab Kyalo, of Kigge Primary School. In the envelope was a letter and sh602,000.
The letter was signed by Odongo and written with the help of Julius Opolot, a resident of the area. Odongo’s father, Patrick Vono, signed as a witness. true
In the Kisoga culture, an aspiring son-in-law writes a letter and seals it in an envelope with cash starting from sh200,000 upwards.
Once the contents in the envelope are accepted, arrangements for the traditional wedding ceremony are made. In this case, sh600,000 was for the girl’s parents, while sh2,000 was meant for the person who read to them the letter.
The headmaster (right) on realizing what it meant, reported the matter to Balawoli Police Post to bring Odongo to book.
Odongo vanishes
When Odongo learned that he was wanted by the Police, he vanished, leaving his father, Vono and friend, Opolot, in trouble.
They were later arrested and detained at Kamuli Central Police Station.
Kyalo explained that being the custodian of pupils at his school, he had to act promptly because his mission is to ensure that the children complete Primary Seven.
He handed the envelope to the district CID officer, Pamela Ajilong. Vono and Opolot were charged with procuring defilement.
Meanwhile in a twist of events, Vono and Opolot were released on bond and have opened a case against Kasuubo, accusing her of stealing their money.
While Odongo remains in hiding, Kyalo is particularly perturbed with this new development. Ajilong has said both files are awaiting sanctioning by the resident state attorney.
Pregnancies worry headmaster
“In 2012, I stopped a traditional marriage ceremony for a Primary Seven candidate who was picked from the classroom to go and get married,” said the school head.
In the same year, he said, three girls got married while another two sat their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) while pregnant. In 2013, the school registered seven pregnancies.
This year, two pupils in Primary Six are pregnant. The incidents are particularly embarrassing because the International Day of the Girl Child was celebrated in Kamuli just last week.
Plan-Kamuli unit manager, Patrick Emukule, called upon communities not to leave the responsibility of protecting the girls to NGO’s and the Police alone.