By Edgar R Batte
Tony and Pauline Lynne Barry Muwangala are both journalists. She is also a TV producer and farmer while he doubles as a communications and outreach specialist and an actor. The two met in 2016 at Buganda Broadcasting Services (BBS) Television in Mengo, Kampala, where Pauline worked as an entertainment producer while Tony was the chief news manager.
It all started with him linking her with people in ‘higher places’. “He was humble, committed to his work and God-fearing. I loved these qualities and decided that we would be friends,” Pauline says, adding that after a while, she noticed more qualities in Tony such as his love and care towards her and other people, that made her develop romantic feelings towards him.
To Tony, their first interactions revealed a woman who could pass for another workmate but with time, he discovered she was very compassionate. With Pauline, he came to understand the importance of that friendship. He emphasises the need to first build a strong friendship with someone as the background to having a strong and unbreakable relationship.
Meeting family
When their feelings for each other grew and they started dating, Tony decided to meet her family members and started building rapport. He would treat them with a lot of respect and it is through these interactions that he became friends with many of them.
Casual meetings with her sisters, brothers, Ssenga ow’ensonga or paternal aunt (casually first, then formally) and later introducing her to his family made their union stronger and their affection deeper.
At work, they kept their romance a secret. Although his office was adjacent to hers, they had devised some sort of sign language through which they would communicate. Then, when it came to serious office business such as meetings, she would call him by his name. However, it was on such an occasion that she called his name so romantically that everyone was curious to know why.
Tony says after this incident, they started calling each other ‘love’ and this earned them a lot of teasing from workmates.
The proposal
According to Pauline, the proposal was unique. It also made her love him more because now she was sure he was committed to the relationship.
“Truth be told, I shed tears of joy because I used to day-dream that my proposal would be like the ones we see in movies but got the shock of life that made me feel special,” Pauline says.
To plan the proposal, Tony took advantage of when they were both free and planned a visit to his grandmother. “I made sure it was a weekend without any work commitments. Her sisters told her that they were going to visit grandmother. The surprise was how I proposed to her in front of my family because she knew the weight it carried,” he explains.
“Tony jealously guards his family. He avoids bringing in anyone who does not add value to his life. So, my surprise was that he now valued me enough to make me a part of his family. I remember asking him; “are you sure about this?” and he said yes.
A few things went wrong. “We got lost on the way to his grandmother’s place and reached late. Somehow, I started feeling embarrassed and I thought they would not welcome me but instead they did and with a lot of love,” she recollects.
To him, nothing could have gone wrong. As a man of faith, he had prayed not only for this day but for the Lord to guide him as he searched for the right person and the whole process of making her his wife. With the proposal done, the two lovebirds set out to build their bond on a foundation of communication and being real. So, they sat and agreed on when to hold the introduction ceremony, wedding, and starting a family. Click to read more…
