|
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 |
