Chapter 3 THE POLYGAMOUS MAN

After reading the letter, Musoke became so furious; he couldn’t believe that his brother-in-law could do such a thing to his sister. He said that Kirigwajo is not a real man; instead of marrying a second wife to achieve his goal of having a son; he decided to chase away his whole family! He said that he will go the next day to talk to him. Lari went and sat next to her brother and she said…

“Musoke my brother; please don’t worry about me and my children, believe me, brother, my children and I, we are better off here than in Kirigwajo’s house. That man has humiliated us a lot, we felt like rubbish in his house; we would rather stay here with you please.

Do you know that he refused to pay my children’s school fees because they are girls? He said that he can’t waste his money on girls who will go and marry someone and make that man rich. I used to work hard selling vegetables and selling handmade stuff in order to educate my daughters. I will do the same here so that I can keep my daughters in school.

Yes, he chased us away because I couldn’t bore him a boy child but he forgot to tell you that the main reason why we are here; is because I refused him to marry off my first daughter, Lydia. Kirigwajo brought an older man to our home and he told me that he came to visit my daughter because he was going to marry her. I flipped and chased that older man out of our house, my daughter is just 16 and she is very passionate about her education; I will never allow anyone to mess with her, even if it is her father. I will take care of my daughters and educate them until they get tired of studying; I will rather die than allowing that stupid man to marry them off”.

Musoke just hugged his sister and told her that he will help her and also look after her daughters; he promised to take them back to the school. He told his sister that if she is happy to stay away from her husband, then he will employ her to help him with farm work; he said he needs someone he trusts to help him on the poultry farm, someone who will be in charge of it.

The next day was a Monday; Musoke took his sister’s daughters into his car and drove them to school. He went to the Principal of the school and he explained the whole story to her; it was in the middle of the term and the school had a policy not to accept new pupils in the middle of the term.

Since Musoke was well known and a very good fundraiser for the school; his nieces were accepted into the school, he paid for all their school requirements and they started school on that day. His nieces were so happy for what he did for them and they were extremely grateful.

Lari immediately started helping her brother on the farm; she decided to forget about her ex-husband. She chose to focus on her new job and her daughters. In the evenings after dinner, she will sit outside with her mother and talk about everything and anything.

One evening, while she was busy talking with her mother; her mother told her that she was feeling some pain in the chest, Lari helped her mother into her bed and she made her lay on the bed, she immediately called Musoke who suggested that they should take the mother to the hospital.

Their mother was admitted to the hospital, she was there for a week. Her children and grandchildren visited her often; she was indeed getting weak and weak every single day. The doctors tried everything to cure her but nothing seemed to work.

Lari stayed in the hospital with her mother, her mother asked Lari to take care of the family in case she dies, she said…

“Lari my daughter, I’m sorry that your marriage failed; you are not to blame for it and never blame yourself for it. Since you are back now; please always support your brother, his family is very big and I want you to be his support system. My son works so hard and sometimes he spends the whole day on the farm working. He needs someone to care for him, yes he has three wives but I think your love will mean a lot to him. You understand him better and you know what he has been through.

Please keep the family in order and together, never allow the family to collapse; always encourage togetherness and love amongst everyone, do not show favoritism amongst your sisters’ in-laws, your nieces, and your nephews, this will help you to be a good judge if any issue occurs.

I love you daughter and I trust you with my son and his family. I also want to share a secret with you about your brother and my friend Kakoma but let us do that tomorrow, I’m really tired, let me rest”.

Lari was so touched by her mother’s words; she cried a bit, covered her mother well and she also slept on the floor next to her mother’s bed. The next morning, mother became worse; she was very weak and she couldn’t talk. The doctors tried everything but it was too late; Musoke’s mother passed on.

Lari broke down and cried hysterically, her dear mother was no more. She called Musoke who was on his way to the hospital to see his mother; she gave him the sad news, Musoke stopped the car on the side of the road and he cried for a while, his loving mother, his rock was no more. After a few minutes to himself; Musoke drove to the hospital to join his sister. Lari wondered about the secret between her brother and Kakoma which her mother wanted to talk to her about!

They both gave the bad news to their other three sisters, and to all family members. Musoke called his children and nieces’ schools and told them to release them so that they can go back home and mourn their grandmother. It was such a somber moment at Musoke’s farm.