RUKUNGIRI, UGANDA: It was a moment of happiness and joy in Rukungiri district as 83-year-old Yosia Mwesigye finally received his first born child after years of waiting.
Mzee Mwesigye whose 79-year-old wife passed on with no child born in the 57-year marriage had waited but in vain until his sister, a one Feredansi Tumushabe brought him a woman at home for a visit, who later became his new wife, and now the mother of his long-waited firstborn child.
Born on January 26, 1939, in Nyamiyaga Cell, Kazindiro Parish in Bugangari Sub-county, Rukungiri District, Mzee Mwesigye, third born among 10 children says he married his first wife the late Jane Tukamuhabwa on April 25, 1962, and the couple had lasted in marriage for 57 years but with no child as the wife couldn’t conceive.
He says despite several visits to hospitals, the couple was always they were fertile and could conceive but all was in vain.
Unfortunately, Tukamuhabwa (Mzee Mwesigye’s wife) was in 2005 diagnosed with cervical cancer and she died in 2018 without seeing the fruit of her womb. “We did everything together but it was so unfortunate that she passed on without giving birth,” the 83-year-old narrates.
In 2019, Mzee Mwesigye at 79 years found love again and this time hoped for a child.
“I lived with workers and some adopted children after the death of my wife but they could sleep in boys’ quarters and I would sleep alone in the main house. That’s when life turned against me and I thought of marrying a second wife,” he says.
“Days later, my sister Tumushabe came home for a visit with a one Sharon Arinaitwe, who later became my new wife. I was excited to the extent that I even cried and asked one of my workers to slaughter a goat,” he says.
Two years later in marriage with Ms. Arinaitwe, now 29, Mzee Mwesigye discovered that his new wife was pregnant and on March 23 she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy at North-Kigezi Health IV Rugarama in Rukungiri district.
“I am so happy that God has blessed me with a child at my old age. I never thought of getting one but I kept on praying and finally, God answered my prayers and now I am a father,” Mzee Mwesigye overwhelmingly full of joy narrates.
“Dying without a child is such a painful thing. In our African culture, one is only remembered when they leave a child on earth. I used to wake up early in the morning, sit in my sitting room and ask myself how I will be remembered after my death since I had no child,” he adds.
Ms Arinaitwe said she was convinced by her sister-in-law to marry Mr Mwesigye.
“We reached his home amid rain. I saw an old man and thought that his son was the one to marry me. Later in the evening, the man told me that he wants to marry me. That is when I realised that my husband was an old man,” she says.
She adds: “He is a good man who loves his family. I promise to look after him until his death.”
Ms Feredansi Tumushabe, 57, a sister of Mzee Mwesigye, says: “He wanted to marry again and I accepted his suggestion. I started tracing for a wife. Three months later, I met Arinaitwe whom I convinced to marry my brother”.
Dr Benon Bainomugisha from Nyakibale hospital says such cases of failing to produce among couples who are medically normal are common. “There is a very big difference between being normal and giving birth. Such a situation is genetically inherited from one generation to another. People should always seek assistance from qualified health workers but problems can persist since it is inherited,” he says.
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