Jinja couple treks 14kms for ‘scientific wedding’ amid covid-19 lockdown

Newlyweds: Mr Aggrey Zilaba Muzaale and Mrs Racheal Alitusabira Muzaale brandish their wedding rings after Pastor Zacharia Sserwadda of Evangelist Church scientifically wedded them at his office on Tuesday. PHOTOS BY DENIS EDEMA

A couple on Tuesday walked for 14 kilometres from Mafubira Sub-county, a Jinja suburb, to Pastor Zacharia Sserwadda's Evangelist Church on Oboja Road in Jinja municipality and back, to hold their 'scientific wedding' amidst a ban on private and public transport over the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday evening, President Museveni grounded all private vehicles, closed salons, garages and arcades among a raft of other directives, all aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus. This came days after he had suspended public transport for 14 days.

The ceremony of five people, including the couple, best man and matron, was held at Pastor Sserwadda's office in fulfilment of President Museveni's directive on gatherings.

The couple walk back to their home in Mafubira Sub-county, a seven-kilometre distance from Jinja Town, after their scientific wedding which was presided over at Evangelist Church office by Pastor Zacharia Sserwada on Tuesday.


“Because of what is happening worldwide, the couple's parents accepted their children's wedding to proceed and receive blessings," Pastor Sserwadda told Daily Monitor.
The groom, Mr Aggrey Zilaba Muzaale, a 34-year-old hardware dealer and Ms Racheal Alitusabira, a 26-year-old Mukono-based midwife, said they could not wait for the lockdown to end in order to wed.

Shs7m budget
According to the couple, their budget was Shs7m, part of which they used to purchase some items before the country registered its first coronavirus case, and are keeping the balance for the reception when the situation normalises.
President Museveni on Tuesday evening clarified that a couple would be allowed to hold a wedding ceremony of at most 10 people.

“We discouraged the hexagonal, extravagant Ugandan-style weddings; if in a hurry, we encouraged the couples to go for the scientific weddings by the actual stakeholders, accompanied by a few people,” Mr Museveni said.