Kampala, (UG):- The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, M Norbert Mao over the weekend held a highly secretive Kukyala function at the parents of his lover Beatrice Kayanja.
The attendance by invite-only function is reported to have been graced by Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, a close friend of the maverick DP President General Minister and other bigwigs from the government and the Democratic Party.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa and his wife Anita Rukundo, Mbarara MP Mbarara North MP Dr Robert Mwesigwa Rukaari also accompanied Mao to the secret event held at on Sunday, February 26, 2024, in Najjanankumbi, a Kampala suburb.
“It was a visit to parents; introduction will be later in the year. This is our tradition; we are Africans,” Mao was quoted by NewVision when asked to comment about the event.
Mao’s love affair with Beatrice came to light recently when she posted a picture of her and the minister on X, formerly Twitter, showing their smiling faces.
They were elegantly dressed and wearing dark glasses. She told one of her followers who had reacted to the post that she and her fiancé’s friendship was deep.
But who is Beatrice Kayanja, the lucky woman throwing her UK marriage, and children to marry Minister Mao?
AnkoleTimes, a local online publication in an exclusive report profiles Beatrice Kayanja as a Research Assistant at the Mao-led Democratic Party (DP).
The publication reports that Beatrice returned to Uganda in 2020 to contest for Kampala Capital City Authority Lord Mayorship but was locked out of the race by the Electoral Commission for failing to meet the requisite demands.
Reports then came up that she was making out her Democratic Party President General Nobert Mao. This version of events was collaborated by her then-husband, Martin Kayanja, who accused her of getting too close to Mao given his single status.
The events coincided with Mao’s complex marriage situation, having been in a rocket relationship with their estranged wife Naomi Adong Achien for over eight years. Ultimately, in 2019, Mao’s 16-year marriage to Naomi was dissolved by the High Court (Family Division) in a grand ruling presided over by Justice Godfrey Namundi.
The judge premised his ruling on a petition filed by Achieng accusing Mao of cruelty and desertion. Mao, who had three children with Achieng following their civil marriage on August 8, 2003, is said to have deserted his wife for eight years.
Initially, Beatrice also known as Bae Kay was enrolled in NRM, when she didn’t get NRM endorsement for mayorship, she tried People Power before it became NUP, still, she was not endorsed and went to DP where she was endorsed right away.
This fast endorsement coupled with her close relationship with Mao lately must have hit Mr. Kayanja so hard.
Two years ago, Beatrice Kayanja, the woman now “in things” at the minister’s house petitioned the High Court Family Division to dissolve her marriage with her longtime UK-based hubby Martin Kayanja and father of her children vide HCT-00-FD-DC-0021-2021 and the case was assigned to Lady Justice Ketra Katunguka Kitarisibwa.
Inside sources reveal that when their relationship developed thorns, their relatives tried several avenues of making them reconcile and settle the matter in vain.
It should be noted that last year, Mr Kayanja surfaced on social media in a video making various allegations that he had been suspecting that his wife was cheating on him.
In a video clip that was widely circulated on social media, Kayanja accused the top politician of wrecking his marriage. Kayanja, who lives in London UK, pleaded with the politician to look for other women and ‘give his wife space’.
Mr Kayanja in the video revealed that his wife came to Uganda on a business visit in March 2020 and has since refused to return to London to rejoin the family. In the clip, Kayanja begs his wife to respect her marriage and return home.
Beatrice is an IT engineer who studied at the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom, where she lived with her family until early 2020 when she returned to Uganda.
She later announced her candidacy for the Kampala Lord Mayor seat in the 2021 general elections before she was blocked by the Electoral Commission on account of failure to present her citizenship credentials.
In the traditional Buganda setup, the Kukyala ceremony is always the first martial function done in the Buganda tradition where the woman introduces her partner to her family members to officially consider him as the partner they are willing to spend the rest of their life with.
The dates for when the next two functions will be held are yet to be revealed to the public but as of now, all we can do is congratulate the two upon taking a serious stride in their relationship.
Congratulations Hon. Norbert Mao and Beatrice Kayanja!
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