Everyone’s would be bridesmaids

Martha and Abigail say that being raised by a single powerful mother gave them a lot of confidence and a perspective that anything was possible, to always stand for truth and love people.

What you need to know:

  • TWO OF KIND. Twins, they are always intriguing, especially the identical ones. The first time I met these two, they were singing away at my sister’s wedding in Jinja. The song was the old hymn, Anjagala. Apart from the fact that their rendition was refreshingly hip, looking at them was like seeing double but in a good way. Five years later, I met up with them (on phone, you know, because of coronavirus guideline things.) and because their resemblance still hypnotises me, I asked a few dumb questions to which they gave interesting answers.

Martha:
A bit about yourself?
My name is Martha Kaudha Abigail. I am a sociologist by profession, a singer, a make-up artist and stylist. I am blessed and highly favoured in everything I do.

How would you describe Florence (the other twin)?
She is full of life, bubbly, a go-getter, a leader, loving and caring all at once and oh a talker, if you have been around overly excited enthusiastic full of life people, you would be shocked.

What is your fondest childhood memory?
Our childhood was fun. We were the centre of attention being the last kids raised in the house, with our little sister. It was filled with matching clothes, given every opportunity to be creative and try all kinds of talents and things. Being raised by a single powerful mother gave us a lot of confidence and a perspective that anything was possible, to always stand for our truth and love people.

Fondest childhood memory- weekends, our elder sisters came from university every weekend to take us swimming and to church on Sunday, where we would eat chips and goat’s meat from our favourite restaurant. We looked forward to it weekly

Have you ever switched places with Florence? Do you ever get mistaken for her?
We have switched places a couple of times. In school so we wouldn’t get punished, which we failed miserably because the wrong twin would get punished and then would blame the other.

In high school, running from boys and pretending that you aren’t the one they are looking for was always fun.

People who do not really know us always mistake us for each other, so when I meet someone new and they act like they know me, I am always polite but tell them I am not who they think I am.

Do you share everything?
Actually, we really do not like sharing, we only do if we have to. So, we try to respect each other’s property and stuff but usually fail miserably.

Share Clothes?
Sometimes, but like I said, we try to respect each other’s property. Key word is try.

What are you passionate about that she is not?
I am passionate about make-up and styling, making women feel confident about themselves, because confident women are beautiful women.

Florence:

A bit about yourself?
My name is Florence Janet Babirye. Babirye is my twin name which means, “The one who came out first”.

I have a degree in languages and communication from Uganda Christian University. I work with Edu child foundation as officer in-charge, of resource mobilisation and with another group called Momentum Leadership.

How would you describe Martha?
Martha loves people. She has so many friends in so many different spaces. She loves art, she’s very stylish, fashionable, eloquent, and thoughtful. If you met her, you’d like her. She has a warm personality.

Fondest childhood memory?
We grew up with a single mother who did everything to make sure that we turn out well. Our childhood was good. We were made to wear similar clothes. You know the sentiments that come with seeing twins. Everyone thought we were so cute, they’d say ‘Oh, I want them to be maids at my wedding’.

It was fun being a twin child. We used to welcome everyone at home and not with a simple, “you are welcome”. We would sing songs for visitors and dance for them. And it didn’t matter whether you wanted to listen to us or not, you just had to get with the programme.

Ever switched places with Martha or get mistaken for her?
When we were at Makerere College, there was this guy who was like a creep. He was weird. Had no friends, but he took an interest in Martha. So every time he would come to Martha, she would say, ‘What, you are looking for Martha? I am Florence, Martha is not here’. It took the guy a long time to figure out that we were playing him. Because every time he came and asked me, I’d say I wasn’t Martha. Well, I am not.

We also get mistaken for each other a lot at church. We both go to Worship Harvest Church and we both lead worship. Some people never figure out who is who. They would say, ‘oh, you sang last time and you are going to sing again! And I‘d say, no, I didn’t sing last Sunday.

When we were at Makerere College, teachers would punish one person and then, they’d see the same person walking around and they’d get confused! It’s always interesting to see how people react.

Share clothes?
Sometimes. Because we live together but there are things that are off limits. Let’s say if she has really good shoes, that I’d kill to wear but because they are off limits, we respect that. Same thing with clothes.

What are you passionate about that she is not?
I am passionate about music, photography and writing. We kind of share similar interests but I think the difference is in the order of priority. For instance, she also writes, but she is not as passionate about it as I am. But the singing, we share equally. Our father was a singer, so it’s in the genes, it’s something we were called to do.