Drama ensued during the burial of the long-serving Nabuti Cell chairperson, Romano Valentino as one of his children, Julio Carol went on his knees, apologized before the residents and mourners for having been among the gang terrorising them for some time.
“As I kneel before you, the residents and my father who is lying here in his casket, I ask for forgiveness! I also don’t know the force behind that wrong character in me,” he said with tears rolling from his eyes in a very low and remorseful tone.
Dressed in white traditional attire (kanzu) Julio added: “However I suspect it could be the female names Julio Carol which were given to me by my parents to be the force behind that habit. I therefore ask for the elders to give me other names that are purely for men,” he said, followed by a lot of cheering, shouting and ululations from the mourners.
Before he (Julio) handed over the microphone to the master of ceremony, who was the Mukono Central Division chairperson, Robert Peter Kabanda, he (Kabanda) also asked him whether he is not the one who broke into his house and stole his property that included a television set?
To the mourners’ surprise, Julio responded in affirmative, prompting Kabanda to say that, then, he did not even have the guts to report the matter to police but because he had asked for forgiveness in public, he had also forgiven him.
Kabanda asked the rest of the residents in Nabuti and the surrounding villages to also do like him and forgive Julio together with his other brothers for they had repented and asked for forgiveness.
Residents said that for decades, Julio, some of his brothers and their other gangs had been terrorising them but their father, Romano always shielded them.
Romano (64) has been a citizen of Uganda by birth, whose father was an Italian who had come to Uganda to build the roads. However his mother was Ugandan. For that background, he is said to have shown much love to his children whom he referred to as his family.
He has been the Nabuti Cell chairperson in Mukono Central Division, Mukono Municipality for the last 37 years. He was reportedly assaulted by one of his biological children, Monaco Valentino (19) causing him injuries that led to his death.
We learnt that Romano was first admitted at Mukono Church of Uganda Hospital which later referred him to Mengo Hospital where he died from after over a month of critical illness and in Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Though the residents say that after committing the offence Monaco was arrested by Police which later released him without taking him to court, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango watered down those allegations.
“Police did investigations into the matter and sent Monaco’s file to the Resident State Attorney who advised that the file should be taken to court for plea taking. However, the suspect denied the charge and was remanded to Kauga prison,” he said.
Onyango added that after spending over a month on remand, Monaco applied for a court bail which was granted and he was released.
Currently, Monaco is on the run and he did not attend the burial of his father which happened on Thursday at his residence in Nabuti.
At least two of the 20 children of Romano are councillors including Romeo Augustine, the councillor at Mukono Municipality and Lawrence Uteri at Mukono Central Division.
Councillor Romeo also led his siblings to kneel before the mourners and apologize before their father and the mourners.
“On behalf of the children, I went to Mengo hospital where I found daddy on oxygen, knelt down, I apologized for having wronged him and I asked for his forgiveness. Though he was not able to speak, I saw him shedding tears as I talked to him. With the use of his facial gestures, I saw him acknowledging my apology,” Romeo said.
He however put the blame on their mothers for having ill-talked about them before their father tainting them, something that created a barrier between some of the children and the deceased.
Romeo asked the children to put aside their grievances now that their father had died and come together to forge a way forward.
“I call upon our mothers to desist from the habit of fuelling divisions amongst us your children. Open up for all of us. We need to be together if we are to move on,” he appealed.
As if that was not enough, when the turn for the widows came, they also put aside their sadness and publicly pointed fingers more so between the elder wife, Resty Nabawanga and the second one, Jessica Nandugga.
Nabawanga who is said to be the mother to the children in question accused Nandugga for being the trouble causer saying she found them in harmony with the deceased as a family and started creating divisions.
“If I was as bad as Nanduga paints me, why would I have allowed my husband to marry her and let her stay with us here!” she asked.
Nabawanga said that what is unfortunate is the fact that Nandugga also on some occasions did not end on abusing her, but she also sometimes slapped her.
“And what would amuse me is the fact that after doing all that, she could again make herself look good before our husband and taint me together with my children.”
Though she did not utter bitterness before the mourners when her turn came, Nandugga invited the media for an interview and she said that she fears for her life and the six children she has with the deceased.
“The Nabawanga’s children have on several occasions attacked us even when their father was still alive. They are kneeling down and asking for forgiveness now but I don’t trust their words. They are just seeking sympathy,” she said.
Nandugga asked for the law enforcers and the leaders to intervene before the worst happens on them saying though she stays in her house, it is in the same locality and on the same land title, making it difficult for them to keep safe.
The third wife, Mastula Romano said that she has no problem with any child and asked for forgiveness if she wronged anyone.
Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament, Betty Nambooze Bakireke asked the widows to understand that the man (Romano) whom they have been competing for has now gone and urged them to get together and forge a way forward on how to help their children grow into responsible citizens.
Nambooze however refuted Julio’s claims that it could be the names that were forcing him into the wrong doing saying they are not for female as he alleged but for male.
Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga, the former Mukono South MP, asked the children to be hard working just like their father.
“Romano has been a trustworthy local leader who did not engage himself in any illegal land sales as some of the village chairpersons. At least, I bear him witness because I worked with him for 15 years when I was Mukono Town Council chairperson and Mukono Municipality Mayor,” he said.
The Mukono diocesan education secretary, Rev. Canon Geoffrey Kagoye referred to Romano as an upright leader who always gave audience to everyone without any form of discrimination, fear or favour.
Fr. John Mary Vianney Kyeyune, the parish priest for Buguju Catholic Parish in Lugazi diocese who led the requiem mass said that Romano amongst all the pillars he stood on during his life and service was God.
“I would not be here if it was not that. Romano himself would come to the parish, play different roles in the church and he also invited me here for prayers and other discussions. Let’s pray for him so that God can receive him well,” Fr. Kyeyune said.
Among the things that surprised the mourners from Romano’s burial was the casket which had an overwhelming size that was made out of muvule tree as per the deceased’s will.
They said that he also refused the funeral service to carry his casket and asked the locals whom he had served for all that long to carry him to his last destination.
Therefore following the casket’s size and heaviness, it called for over twenty energetic youth to carry it.
The burial was also attended by Mukono deputy RDC, Mike Ssegawa, Buvuma deputy RDC, Patrick Mubiru, Mukono district speaker Betty Hope Nakasi, former RDC, Lilian Nakaweesi, among other big figures.
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Romano Valentino, Ssentebe w’ekyalo Nabuti eyakubiddwa Mutabaniwe Aziikiddwa mu Bitiibwa