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Couple gets sh80m from kyeyos for �wedding�
BY VISION REPORTER
A shrewd couple has raised $40,000 (sh80m) from the Ugandan community in Boston, US, to buy a house.
Ugandans who came home for Christmas holidays are crying foul because they contributed the money for a wedding but the couple (names withheld) diverted it and bought themselves a house in a trendy neighbourhood.
The Ugandans on holiday told Sunday Vision that for most of November and December, they contributed generously to help the couple return to Uganda for a mammoth wedding.
�We even held a kasiki for them at which we still paid for the drinks and they told us they would fly to Uganda before Christmas,� said a furious kyeyo man.
�Instead they just dropped off in town, and paid a hefty deposit on a house.�
Good houses can be obtained for a $10,000 deposit and a mortgage readily obtained for paying the balance in 20 years.
The woman, who is fairly advanced in years, has reportedly sent air t
ickets
to fly out her children whom she had with another man in Uganda .
Another Ugandan in Boston told Sunday Vision on phone that the couple had changed their phone numbers and are no longer accessible.
�We are very bitter because they have spoilt things for others who are not yet married.
�We usually contribute but now people are likely to stop helping couple that want to wed.�
One woman sent an e-mail saying this should teach Ugandans in the Diaspora a lesson to stop spending lavishly on weddings. �Let us learn to be frugal like our hosts who have built strong economies by spending wisely,� she said.
There is a large Ugandan community in Boston which is in the state of Massachussets.
They maintain the African tradition of supporting friends financially during weddings and funerals.
Published on: Sunday, 4th January, 2004 |
