A nine-year-old boy in Uganda has married his six-year-old sweetheart of five years in a traditional wedding. The Primary Four pupil at Buyende Light Primary School and the girl were given a ‘matrimonial hut’ to live in as a couple.
The two started dating when the boy was three years old while the girl was three months old, after they were allegedly born with ‘two teeth’.
“My son was born with two teeth and his wife was also born with two teeth. His birth came with overwhelming blessings and his name should unite both Baganda and Basoga [tribes],” said the boy’s father.
According to the girl’s mother, the girl started speaking immediately after birth.
“She started speaking immediately after birth! When I went into labour, I asked what baby it was and I was told it was a girl. However, the midwife stunned me when she said my baby had been born with two teeth and nearly dropped her,” said the mother to the girl.
The boy’s teacher described him as a disciplined boy in school.
“I think this is the Kintu our forefathers talked about (in ancestral history). This one advises me despite being his teacher,’’ said the teacher.
It is reported that it was not a normal wedding ceremony, as the ‘couple’ sat adjacent to two three-feet long snakes which elders said are meant to protect them.
The police in Uganda are investigating the incidence, which goes against the law of the land where marriage can only happen between people aged 18 and above.
“Any acts of marriage must be between people who are 18 years old and above. Below that, you cannot marry. We want to find out the real facts of what it is all about,” said Busoga North Regional police spokesperson, Mr Michael Kasadha.
