There was drama at Our Lady of Fatima in Jinja City, Uganda when a woman who separated from her husband 30 years ago stormed the church service to stop his wedding plans with another woman.
58-year-old Mary Baseka Norah stormed the morning service on Sunday, October 25, with her daughters demanding the church leaders to halt the marriage banns and other wedding preparations for her husband, Mr Martin Tibalira with whom she has two children.
Ms Baseka interrupted the marriage banns saying she could not allow her husband to take on another woman (Ms Proscovia Nabirye) as his wife because they are still legally married.
However, as she was still explaining, police was called to intervene before she was hounded out of the church and ordered to leave the premises.
“I am here to stop my husband from marrying another woman because we are still legally married. However, I’m surprised to see police hounding me from the church yet I would think they are supposed to protect me. To the best of my knowledge, church rules provide that Tibalira is not allowed to marry another woman unless we are divorced,” Ms Baseka
Her daughters accused police officers of treating their mother unfairly.
“Why are you chasing our mother from the church? What has she done? She has come to pray. Is it because Mr Tibalira has paid you? It isn’t right at all,” One of the daughters shouted.Ms Baseka said she had first sought the intervention of the church leaders but they ignored her, prompting her to attend today’s church service and make her concerns known during the banns.
“When I went to the church leaders, they paid me a deaf ear. They said they would continue with the wedding plans. I thought they were joking until I heard his name being mentioned during marriage banns,” she said.
A copy of the marriage certificate seen by Daily Monitor journalist shows that Ms Baseka and Mr Tibalira, a prominent businessman in Jinja City got married on March 28, 1981. However, they separated in 1985 over Mr Tibalira’s ”promiscuous actions.”
Efforts to get a comment from the church leaders bore no fruits as they all declined to talk to the press.
When Mr Tibalira was contacted, he said he would not solve his marriage issues and declined to divulge more details.
“Do not bother with that lady because you are the 10th journalist to call me on that issue. If you want to write anything, write it at your own risk but do not involve me. The best she should have done is to come to me but not to the news writer who cannot solve my marriage issues,” Mr Tibalira said.
It was gathered that after their separation, Ms Baseka went on to have three more more children with other men.
