It all started with one of my friends deciding to “go to jail” without trial or any chances of “parole”. As I sometimes say, much as many of us are trying to get out through a jammed exit door, others are busysneaking in through all sorts of openings (windows, doors, ventilators, etc). As I was saying, one Youngman decided to walk to a one Senorita and told her that, “Senorita, pardon me, may I get imprisoned with you for life?” and most probably, she too answered “be my prisoner”; and thetwo walked down Padiri’s avenue in preparation for a feast that would mark one become a prisoner and the other becoming a chain keeper! The duo decided to hold the function in Mbarara because that is where most of their relatives are. It is always good to have such an event witnessed by many.The young man is none other than my friend Tofa and the Senorita is Trina. It was agreed that, the mega function of swearing the allegiance was held in the land where milk flows on the village paths. Word has is that, the belles in this land bathe in milk and smear their bodies with none other than the real cow ghee, aka “ikimuli”. Come to think of it and it could be the plain truth. We set off for none other than Mbarara, a Ugandan city located halfway between Kigali and Kampala. We hit the road at around 06:00am and by 09:00am; we were speeding away from the Katuna border post along the Katuna Kabale road. About 30km out of Kabale, the road proved a nightmare because the road re-construction works greatly hampers driving. In some case, we were forced to stop for up to ten minutes as the road works progressed. All in all, we took close to three hours from Katuna to Mbarara, a journeythat used to normally take about two hours! Having got to Mbarara, we were left with the challenge of getting where to lay our backs. It is quite surprising how expensive Mbarara is as compared to Kampala. In the end, we settled for a small Hotel located just a couple of metres away from Mbarara University and this is none other than ACACIA Hotel. The rooms were moderate and go for a cool Ugshilling 60K for single occupancy and 80K for double occupancy. After digging in into Mbarara, we were set to go to the wedding function. Tofa and Trina had been slated to say their “I DO” “I DO” at the Marty’s Church located a short distance from the City Centre. The “I DO” “I DO”, were duly said and the two emerged as “TxT=T2” (T Squared)! That said and done, we headed for the reception that had been well arranged at the “Palm Beach” just as you leave Ruti town. At the Reception, there were plenty of eats and soft drinks served on arrival. To spice it up, there was a Cultural Dance Troupe that performed a dance akin to the Ankole Kitagururo, the Tooro and Bunyoro Runyege. As the brides arrived, the place was filled with ululations and cheering. The MCs were quite entertaining as they spoke words in Runyankole that would have otherwise been unspeakable in Kinyarwanda. I always wonder how the two languages are so close and yet so far apart! I have no doubt that, this was the Couple of the year! If I had powers, I would have awarded them an “Olympics Gold Medal”, after all it was the London Olympics season.
