New beginnings: Social media was on Tuesday awash with photos of Faridah Nakazibwe’s wedding to boyfriend, Dr Omar Ssali in Dubai. So many were caught offguard because word was that the wedding would be held in Masaka, and then there was the unfinished Moses Kigongo saga. Lawrence Ogwal caught up with Nakazibwe on why she called it quits with Hajj Kigongo, why she had her wedding in Dubai and where she will start from when she returns to Uganda after quitting her job at NTV.
Congratulations! How was the wedding?
Thank you very much boss. It was simply a Muslim marriage known in Islam as Nikah, and it was done by Imam Muhammad Luggya of Masjid Farook in Al Hamriyah. Dinner was at Radson Hotel on the Dubai Twin Towers.
Dubai, huh! Does that mean you are settling there?
No, of course I am coming back because there is still a lot for me to do at home.
Should we say you are on honeymoon since you two are newlyweds?
You can call it that, but I prefer to say we are just resting and spending some time together.
Doesn’t your husband, Dr Omar, work in Dubai?
Now, he works in Qatar. But after spending some time here in Dubai, he will go back to Qatar and I will also come back home.
How long will you spend there before you come back home?
We decided to stay in Dubai for some time. I cannot say it will be a week or months but it will depend on when he will want to go and resume work because he is out of office for some time.
So you two are going to be in a long distance relationship?
Of course, we have always been in a long distance relationship and we agreed on how we can best deal with it. My husband only comes to Uganda once in a while to check on me and his family, but he works and lives in Qatar.
Isn’t that tough for someone in love?
It is not tough at all. I have always handled and I will still handle the long distance relationship because he never stays away from me for long.
Where are you going to start from when you return?
I will start from exactly where I paused. I will continue to be the mother I have always been and the employee I continue to be. Nothing is going to change because this was simply a formalisation of a relationship, life still goes on.
But you quit your job at NTV.
Yes I quit my job, but when I return to Uganda I will still be on TV. The only difference is I will be serving from another television station which I do not think I want to mention very soon. I want it to be a surprise for my fans.
Was Dr Omar the reason you resigned?
No way. My resignation was a coincidence and it was not because I wanted to go to Dubai to get married to Omar. Change is a constant factor of life and I mean, it has been 10 years at NTV and I thought it was time to move on.
Did you have the wedding in Dubai because of threats from Hajj Kigongo?
No, we only did what we wanted; it had always been our idea to have our wedding in Dubai. Besides, we also needed some bit of privacy after some people chose to “hijack” my life while in Uganda.
Please explain what you mean by “hijacking” your life.
I am talking about tabloids and bloggers who have turned me into business in a way that every time they run short of what to write about, they come up with stories. I have been trailed. People had gone to the extent of camping at Serena hotel just to ‘steal’ pictures of me and cook up false stories.
What is the worst experience the two of you faced apart from just tabloids and bloggers?
When my husband was in town, we were trailed on a daily and on two occasions, he was beaten up by goons but we left the matter to the police.
Do you think the beating had something to do with Hajj Kigongo?
Like I said, we left the matter to the police and they are investigating and if they find out who was behind the beating, they will let us know.
Is it true that Hajj Kigongo’s children are the reason your relationship failed?
No one can ever fail a relationship when and if the couple still wants to be together. It can only be God to stop the relationship and so I don’t know about Kigongo’s children failing us.
Did you ever meet any of Kigongo’s children?
Yes, I have met three and they loved me, by the way.
Former NTV news anchor Faridah Nakazibwe
According to you, what failed the relationship?
Nothing much, it just did not take off beyond the runway and perhaps may be God did not bless it and that is why it ended the way it did.
But bloggers and tabloids claim you ditched him because he “was not ‘man enough’…”
I did not know they were watching. May be you should try asking them for details because they seem to know better than me.
You were once quoted saying you loved Hajj Kigongo because he was old and full of developmental ideas, but now here you are with Dr Omar.
May be you should re-read that. Love is too big a word.
What do you mean too big a word; so there was no love found in Kigongo?
I will not go there. Just remember that not all affairs are meant to end in marriage.
So you do not regret leaving the relationship?
Never have I had regrets. But I have seen people regretting on my behalf and this has been a big surprise to me.
Which people are those and why would they even mind?
I have seen headlines in Newspapers on my way to work and I smile in pity at the authors of those stories.
Meeting omar and talking children
How long have you known Dr Omar?
I have known Omar for a year and a half now. We met in 2014 through a friend who introduced me to him and we first became good friends.
Have you introduced him to the children?
Yes I did and they get along very well. When you meet the girls and him, you would think they have known each other for decades.
Won’t the girls forget their father?
They cannot forget their father because he always picks them and spends the entire weekend with them. I am always with them throughout the week.
Who is with them while you are in Dubai?
They are living with a relative, until I return.
Don’t you miss them?
We both miss each other and they are even mad that they were not part of the wedding.
We did not see many family members in the photos. Does that mean you will have another wedding in Masaka?
Insha Allah (God willing) there will be another wedding in Uganda because our families mean a lot to us and we cannot exclude them in this. It hurts me that only very few witnessed the wedding in Dubai.
What has your family said about this whole relationships thing?
My family is very supportive; they cannot force me to do what I do not want. As long as I am happy and the person meets the basics, like religion.
logwal@ug.nationmedia.com
