More than 100 cows were turned away by former Uganda Prime Minister and presidential contestant, Amama Mbabazi on the ground that would sound and resonate with the thinking of most men who are struggling to pay a dowry.
The animals which were presented to him for his niece Jacqueline Mbabazi last weekend from South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa relatives including his son Andile last weekend were viewed by the Uganda’s top politician as an act that dehumanizes women.
Mr. Mbabazi noted that the amount of investment parents inject in their daughters cannot be valued to the numbered animals in exchange of a human being.
“Even the so called giveaway ceremony is distorted. We are not giving away our daughter. She is still our own, so whatever you’re going to give us, we are giving it to the young family so that they can multiply it to raise their family,” Mr Mbabazi who raised Ms Bridget Birungi Rwakairu (bride to be) told the relatives.
He added that it reduces women to become a property of their husbands who end up mistreating them.
“This is prehistoric form of injustice which we must address. We should instead be cementing the bond between the two families and growing the roots of the family trees. We are not giving away our daughter because she is still one of us,” he said.
