They say love knows no boundaries; yes, and this came to reality as Nicholas Fredrick Schmids beat the dusty road to Nabbunga in Rakai district for his customary marriage (kwanjula) to Angella Mutegeevu Kayanja.
Mutegeevu is a daughter to Brig Elly Kayanja, one of the soldier managers of the government anti-poverty program, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC). The Belgium-born Schmids, who currently works with the UN in Rwanda, met Mutegeevu in London where she was studying.
Their love blossomed until early this year when he came to Uganda to officially ask the army man for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Schmids’ road to Mutegeevu’s heart may not have been a complicated one, but it was a different story when it came to winning over her influential parents; the prospective father-in-law could not imagine his daughter getting married to a European.
The brigadier is traditional and conservative. Before thousands of guests that graced his daughter’s kwanjula at Nabbunga hill in Kifamba sub-county, Kayanja spoke about his first meeting with Schmids.
“It was a tense moment for me; I got a bit worried…I turned to Angella and asked her, ‘Are you determined to go with this man?’ She answered in the affirmative,” Kayanja told guests at his resplendent country home sitting atop a hill.
Kayanja’s negative attitude scared Schmids and to prove he was not simply playing around, he asked the decorated soldier what he wanted of him (Schmids) to prove he meant business of the heart.
Kayanja seized the ‘blank cheque’ and set his conditions.
First, Schmids was to conform to the traditional Buganda marriage norms. This meant that his formal visit (kukyaala) at Kayanja’s Mutundwe residence near Kampala was to be followed by a traditional kwanjula in his home village in Rakai.
“I told him that I don’t consider the house in Kampala my home and if he wanted to take my daughter, he had to come and see where we come from, and also relate with the bigger family,” Kayanja said.
Determined, Schmids made preparations and on July 12, he made the journey to Rakai for the traditional marriage ceremony, accompanied by his relatives and friends.
SCHMIDS ENCOUNTERS RAKAI
Kayanja’s posh house sits on top of Nabbunga hill which gives it a commanding view of the hills in this part of Kooki county of Buganda. For Schmids and his people that were seeing this part of Uganda for the first time, it must have been a breathtaking experience – had the groom not been so nervous, obviously.
Given the clout Kayanja holds in the area, he invited almost everyone in Rakai and the newly-created Kyotera district, although some skipped it based on their memories of a tough commandant of Violent Crime Crack Unit (VCCU) – Operation Wembley – that was formed to hunt down armed criminal gangs in the early 2000s.
This is not to say that locals did not trek to Kayanja’s tiled white mansion to see for themselves, as opposed to settling for the gossip that will clearly dominate the village pubs for months. The brigadier slaughtered at least 10 cows, cooked not less than 600kg of rice and nearly 200 bunches of matooke, according to organisers.
With the food and different tribes of drinks that ranged from tonto (local brew) and beers, to spirits and wines, not many locals could keep away from such a fete. In his expansive compound, Kayanja put up giant screens for the crowd to follow the proceedings.
ENTOURAGE
Schmids, with about 20 relatives and friends from the UN base in Kigali, arrived at about 2pm clad in traditional kanzu (tunics) and gomesi for the women. Kayanja had insisted; he wanted a traditional kwanjula to the dot, so many of the guests were seen making the most of their first time in a gomesi.
The spokesmen of either side added colour to the function given their good command of Luganda and French, the second language that was used in order to make Schmids’ French-speaking friends and relatives comfortable. Like at modern kwanjula events, Schmids first sat at the back of the tent waiting for the moment Mutegeevu’s ssenga (paternal aunt) would come to identify him and introduce him with pomp to his waiting in-laws.
It was comical, as the ssenga spoke neither English nor French, and Schmids knew nothing of the Luganda she spoke with endearments. Note that in Buganda, the ssenga is a pivotal point in a kwanjula, since she speaks for the bride.
Meanwhile, the male members of the entourage seemed to enjoy every moment of the kwanjula drama, dancing in their kanzus to almost every song that was played as Mutegeevu’s siblings took turns to come and greet the visitors.
It did not help matters that Brig Kayanja has an extremely beautiful brood. The female members of Schmids’ entourage had their moment too. Many who came from cultures where kneeling before a human being is unheard of, were rudely introduced to the Buganda display of respect, kneeling to greet Mutegeevu’s people.
Kayanja’s spokesman kept pointedly repeating the greetings, until he was sure all but one stubborn woman in Schmids’ entourage were on their knees!
At first they appeared perplexed when Schmids’ spokesman asked them to respect the cultural dictate, but they later complied since this was part of the conditions Schmids had agreed to.
Seated at the front with Schmids, his sister Sophie dodged the first requirement to kneel, but being central to Schmids’ negotiations for a bride, she found herself having to kneel more times than her colleagues.
She had to accompany her brothers to deliver the Kabaka and Nnaabagereka’s portraits plus a Buganda certificate and map of Buganda to Kayanja and sank to her knees respectfully once before the brigadier. She also found herself on her knees for a longer session as Schmids’ spokesman went through the norms of serving the in-laws from a gourd of alcohol.
MUSIC
Home talent Stabua Natoolo led musicians Harunah Mubiru, Daniel Kazibwe (Ragga Dee) and Annet Nandujja to entertain the guests.
Being a daughter of the area, Natoolo excited the guests more and was given more tips than the rest as she led Mutegeevu’s ssengas to greet the visitors.
While Ragga Dee was not so appealing to many, Mutegeevu got out of her way to dance and sing along to the former Kampala lord mayoral candidate’s music as he led Schmids’ sisters to give her a bouquet of flowers.
After the formalities were out of the way and the food and drinks demolished, Schmids won himself a place on Kayanja’s family tree. And now for his last hurdle: the brigadier expects him to return to Rakai after the church wedding, for a meet-and-greet with the elders.
sadabkk@observer.ug