Annet’s smile was the way to Robert’s heart

Robert and Annet at one their media events. The two say that their relationship is strong because they find time for each other. Photo by Edgar R. Batte

What you need to know:

  • Making their relationship official is on their minds. “I wanted to have a civil wedding but my love prefers a church wedding. So right now, I am saving for that. We want it to happen on her 40th birthday in 2020,” he says.
    Aloyo also expresses her dreams for the wedding saying, “I wish we could have our traditional wedding in Gulu were most of my family members are and have the church wedding here in Kampala. I also plan to have a boat cruise on our wedding day. For the honeymoon, I want us to visit France or Canada or both for one month.”

The Chinese saying that a smile is a way to one’s heart is one Robert Nkambo knows and holds dear because it was Annet Aloyo’s smile that drew him to her. Every time she smiled, he felt bliss. Then he fell in love with her and started noticing her tall and slender physique and brilliance when she started telling him stories. Being a film maker, listening to her stories got him hooked.

First meeting
The first time they met was during an interview. She was selected to work as a front desk manager at Mediavision Productions, his company. To his surprise, she laughed and smiled through the interview. “She hardly answered any questions because she was laughing so hard. I fell in love with that personality believing that a front desk requires a warm, welcoming person. In fact I was right because visiting clients loved her,” Nkambo recollects.

However, one day, she was arrested by tax collectors on her way to work and when he came to her rescue, he was rewarded with a hug. At the end of the day, he drove her back to her home. The drop-offs became more frequent and went on for some time. Once he felt he could not hold it anymore, he poured out his feelings to which she responded positively because she had also harboured the same feelings for a while.

Moving in
In 2005, she moved into his house and a year later, she conceived their first child. “We draw a clear line between business and home. We normally share clear duties and tasks at office and home. It is rare to leave things undone because one feels they are over worked or cheated,” Nkambo explains.
Mixing work and pleasure was inevitable. “At first I did not notice anything about him. He was just someone I worked with but then I started to notice his interest in me. He always asked me how I was feeling or whether I had had lunch,” Aloyo recollects. And when she was not in the best of moods, he reached out to inquire why. His care got her thinking about him too. She started to fall in love with him being a lady, she did not show it or tell him how she felt.

Building her career
And her story-telling talent is one that compliments him. She refines all his stories and movies. In addition, she is a good video editor that pays extra attention to detail. Her man attributes this to her two professions of teaching and journalism.
“Robert taught me almost everything I know in this business. I met him when I had just Left UMCAT School of Journalist- as a young journalist and joined him to work as a receptionist when Mediavision was just starting. I can say he wants me to excel and this has compelled me to support him in every possible way. He shoots our video and I edit them. He tells me his plans for the business and family and asks for my opinion,” she explains about their professional relationship.

Nkambo says: “Our business demands a lot of attention and time and there is so much pressure from clients. So, I dedicate Sunday to her and the children. I also attend all official functions with her.” “I wish he creates more time for us. He is so consumed with business that sometimes, I feel he does not notice me anymore,” Aloyo sadly reveals.

Challenges
Nkambo says his lovely woman at times brings issues of mistrust saying I could be having an affair. “The nature of my work as a film director and trainer demands for my interaction with girls who she worries about. This is really hard to deal with because I have to work with them in order to deliver my service. So what I do is to often introduce such people to her so she knows whatever is going on,” he further explains.
She is working at making it work. “On his birthday I organised a date at Ggaba beach where we enjoyed the cool breeze of the sea and sumptuous fish. It is something we had not done in a long time but at least we had some time together, alone, without the children,” she recalls.

Future plans
Making their relationship official is on their minds. “I wanted to have a civil wedding but my love prefers a church wedding. So right now, I am saving for that. We want it to happen on her 40th birthday in 2020,” he says.
Aloyo also expresses her dreams for the wedding saying, “I wish we could have our traditional wedding in Gulu were most of my family members are and have the church wedding here in Kampala. I also plan to have a boat cruise on our wedding day. For the honeymoon, I want us to visit France or Canada or both for one month.”

Advice
To those starting a relation Nkambo gives the following advise.
“Take time to study your partner. Learn their interests, dislikes as well as their strengths and weaknesses. The more you give in to a relationship, the more you will be given back and that will make your relationship strong and enjoyable. Learn to say sorry. That word has power of toning down people’s anger. Tell your partner you love and care for them every time and you should mean it by practically doing things that show it. And lastly, be as open as you can to your partner,” he says.

What friends say
“Besides love, Annet has been so loyal, submissive and supportive of her husband’s vision. Being a spiritual person, she prays for and has stood by her man through thick and think. At least I have seen them grow as a family and as business partners. Robert provides for his children and is proud of his wife,” Julie Alepere

“Annet and Robert love and respect each other in that they established a firm where they work together on all daily operations. They have been able to exhibit maturity. I congratulate them,” Rachael Aliddeki Babirye