I met my husband when I was fresh out of university. The first day I went for evening coffee at Cafe Pap in Ntinda with him, I was so smitten, and my heart told me that this was the man I would spend the rest of my life with. Days passed and we were so happy, and I introduced him to my elder sister, who encouraged me that he was a good “catch” because of his profession.

Months passed by, and we decided to make it official. I travelled home to Kaberebere-Mbarara district and told my mother that I had found a life partner. She was excited and congratulated me. As usual, she asked me the obvious questions: what does he do, where does he come from,who are his parents, and are they alive? I answered her according to what I knew, and she gave me the go-ahead. At supper time, we told my father, who agreed, and in two weeks, I took my future husband together with his people for the first visit at my home, known as “okugamba obugyenyi,” to my parents in Kyafora-Ntungamo district.

The two families agreed on the date that I would officially be picked from my parents home in a ceremony called giveaway (okuhungira), and on June 27, 2015, I was officially handed over to my husband by my parents and the clan members.

After two weeks, we had a beautiful white wedding at All Saints Church in Nakasero, and in the afternoon, we hosted our guests to a luncheon at the Pearl of Africa Hotel in Nakasero. What a joyful day!

Days, weeks, months, and years passed by, and it all seemed to have a happy ending. We had built a house of our own, had three beautiful children, and my husband was always moving around the country with his projects as an architect.

On a sunny afternoon on September 9, 2022, I received a court summons to appear before the magistrate accusing me of marrying another woman’s husband (I don’t even recall what it is called in legal terms).

At first, I thought it was a mistaken identity, but the names that appeared on the summons matched mine and my husband’s. Hell fell loose, and I almost went mad. I remembered my husband mentioning to me that he had a relationship with a lady with whom he had two children. Was I naive, stupid, or an idiot in love? I didn’t bother asking much that day. Probably, if I had done so, I would have gotten clues. This is when I remembered him telling me the story. I started shivering, and my legs started shaking. At that moment, I wanted the ground to swallow me. How could I have been fooled for this long?

I called my sister, who immediately and within minutes was at my house. She cried with me, and we had to organize our defense. She invited a friend who agreed to be my lawyer. I called my husband, and he bluntly told me that he was sorry but had introduced (traditional marriage) Harriet in 2008, and shamelessly, he said that he had no control over the situation since she had decided to sue me.

I put myself together and asked the Lord for strength to help me fight this battle. Imagine all these years of living a lie.

I await the court proceedings to begin as I await my fate with my children.