In other parts of the world, a man walks up to a woman and tells her he is interested in her and this could end up in life-long commitment. For Kenyans back in 2018, however, there seemed to be a faster way to get a wife.
Rwandan women were being sold off as brides in Mityana municipality with a man interested paying Shs80,000 to a middleman to ferry the bride from Rwanda.
Mityana Resident District Commissioner Captain Yahaya Kakooza told Uganda Radio Network [URN] they commenced investigations to establish whether there is no criminality involved in the cross-border marriage.
Despite the fact that many people shied away from talking about the lucrative practice with strangers, the practice was a public secret in Mityana town.
It was reported that a man interested in a Rwandan bride pays with Shillings 80,000 to facilitate the middleman to ferry the bride from Rwanda to Mityana.
Once the bride arrives and agrees to marry the prospective husband, the suitor pays the middleman extra money depending on his bargaining power.
Eddie Ndawula, a native of Mityana town said the sophisticated bride trade came to limelight in 2016 when some pimps used to ferry in ‘Rwandan babes’ to work as commercial s3x workers in night clubs and bars.
“They were brought and put in night clubs; bars where men could go pay the pimp to have pleasure for a few hours. I think (Mityana) men loved Rwandan girls so much,” Ndawula said.
He said as time went on, some men decided to take on the Rwandan girls for much longer, which prompted them to marry, giving rise to the bride trade.
RDC Captain Kakooza said there wouldn’t be cause for alarm if a Ugandan man chose to marry an adult Rwandan female voluntarily. He, however, said they are closely following the middlemen to ensure they are not involved in crime.
Kakooza said preliminary investigations show that some of the brides were taken from their home country without the consent of their relatives, which could fuel disputes between the two countries.
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