{"id":20185,"date":"2022-01-10T09:40:15","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T06:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/?p=20185"},"modified":"2022-01-10T09:40:15","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T06:40:15","slug":"the-byaruhangas-eloped-50-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/?p=20185","title":{"rendered":"The Byaruhangas eloped 50 years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"

This far they have come. From elopement to 50 years of true love and support, Appollinari Byaruhanga Karambuzi and Joveline Kabagyenyi tell Esther Bridget Nakalya about their love journey and lessons learnt.<\/p>\n

On March 21, 1971, Appollinari Byaruhanga Karambuzi identified a young woman just outside his father\u2019s compound in Ruharo Kicwamba Village, Ishaka in Bushenyi Municipality. Joveline Kabagyenyi used to tread a path near Appollinari\u2019s home, as she went to church on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was attracted to her striking figure which is still gorgeous,\u201d Appollinari reveals. \u201cJoveline\u2019s simplicity and pleasantness,\u201d he says was an added advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAppollinari had a great sense of style which I found very attractive,\u201d she recalls. Unfortunately, Joveline\u2019s parents disapproved of Appollinari.
\n\u201cI am a Muhima and he, a \u2018mwiru\u2019 [a Munyankole or person of other tribe] and my parents disapproved of our choice of a relationship,\u201d she confirms.It is from this ordeal that Appollinari and Joveline defied their parents.<\/p>\n

One Sunday morning, I left home with my brother for Sunday service but I had a cold. Midway, I told my brother that I wanted to buy medicine. Meanwhile, we had only one Bible that we always fought to carry to church. So, the moment I handed the Bible to my brother, he dashed so that I would not get it back from him.<\/p>\n

It was a deal done for me . I also rushed to meet Appollinari who was waiting at a coffee factory by the roadside in Bushenyi,\u201d Joveline recalls.
\n\u201cI was excited to see her and we boarded taxis to Mbarara, where we would take another taxi to Kampala, then Entebbe where I was working as assistant meteorological officer,\u201d he interjects. However, their parents were against cohabiting, so Appollinari\u2019s parents persuaded Joveline\u2019s parents to accept their son. They asked for dowry and Appollinari paid.<\/p>\n

The wedding<\/strong>
\nNine months later, the couple tied the knot at Bugonga Catholic Church in Entebbe. Appollinari recalls a fairly organised event, \u201cWe invited a few friends and my workmates to witness our marriage after which we travelled to Ruharo Village in Bushenyi District for the reception.\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n

At the time of the wedding, the couple was expecting their first child which made the seven-hour journey tiring for the bride.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents did not attend the wedding not because they never agreed to it but it was traditionally unacceptable to attend your daughter\u2019s wedding,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Her parents gave the couple a cow as a token on their first visit after the wedding.<\/p>\n

The marriage<\/strong>
\nThe couple reflects on a happy and long-lasting marriage that has overcome adversity. Joveline\u2019s best moment was legalising her marriage to Appollinari after an elopement.
\n\u201cI felt like a well-deserved wife and I was also blessed with loving parents-in-law,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

All has not been rosy. At one point, the couple had to mourn Joveline\u2019s parents after which, financial crisis set in. The latter hit them harder.
\n\u201cWe struggled at some point to raise school fees for our children as their peers from the neighbourhood attended school,\u201d Joveline says.
\nThey say at some point, one of their children asked, \u201cwhy did you give birth to us?\u201d The couple says most challenges have been overcome through virtues such as, \u201cTeam work, patience, empathy, love and prayers are the secrets to our lasting union,\u201d Appollinari says.<\/p>\n

The big 50 vs original wedding<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nOn November 28, 2021, the couple celebrated their golden jubilee. Their children organised a party for them.
\n\u201cWe were blessed to cut a 16-tier well-baked cake unlike at our wedding where we cut millet bread,\u201d recalls Joveline.
\nUnlike the banana leaves and passion fruit vine \u2018drapery\u2019 used as decoration at their wedding, the couple had a better done decoration for their jubilee.
\n\u201cThe colour theme was a blend of yellow and lilac which were embedded in the tent details and table linen,\u201d she explains.
\nBack in time, the couple spent about Shs11, 000 inclusive of the taxi that transported them from Entebbe to Ishaka for their reception. The golden jubilee celebrations cost about Shs 50m.
\nThe couple had a thanksgiving mass for their golden jubilee at their home which was presided over by the Episcopal Vicar Rev Fr John Bosco Turinomujuni.<\/p>\n

Detail\"\"<\/strong>
\nThe bride wore a white A-line gown with lacy details on the bust and arm. This had a silver spiky tiara.
\n\u201cI later changed into a floral round satin peach dress with a pink detail around the neck and waist teamed with a yellow floral tiara,\u201d she says.
\nThe groom opted for a navy blue three-piece suit, ivory bow tie and pocket square paired with a grey fedora.
\nThe matron donned a purple satin round dress with lacy sleeves while the rest of the entourage was largely comprised of their seven children and 33 grandchildren. The bridesmaids wore navy blue, round dresses with silver details at the bust whereas the flower girls and page boys wore African design outfits with black and yellow details.<\/p>\n

Wisdom nuggets<\/strong>
\nAppollinari authored a book in English and Runyakitara titled, Life is for living in which he puts across what the younger generation needs to know about how to treat marriage. Appollinari says young people have embraced foreign culture.
\n\u201cMarriage built on the foundation of money, material wealth and physical beauty will be a nine-days wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quick notes<\/strong>
\nDate: November 28, 2021
\nGroom: Appollinari Byaruhanga Karambuzi
\nBride: Joveline Kabagyenyi
\nMain celebrant: Rev Fr JB Turinomujuni
\nColour theme: yellow and lilac<\/p>\n

Budget: <\/b>
\nShs 50m<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This far they have come. From elopement to 50 years of true love and support, Appollinari Byaruhanga Karambuzi and Joveline Kabagyenyi tell Esther Bridget Nakalya about their love journey and lessons learnt. On March 21, 1971, Appollinari Byaruhanga Karambuzi identified a young woman just outside his father\u2019s compound in Ruharo Kicwamba Village, Ishaka in Bushenyi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":""},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"footnotes":""},"categories":[524],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1784],"class_list":["post-20185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-stories"],"authors":[{"term_id":1784,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"weddingadmin","display_name":"weddingadmin","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd3996c46efafdc40969010bfd78c8e4dda9d99318e7dd6403983ea0dadbcfce?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20189,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20185\/revisions\/20189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20185"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fppma_author&post=20185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}