Our 48 years of marriage have not been entirely smooth, says Matembe
Nekemia (L) and his wife Miria Matembe gesture as they interact with Assistant Kampala Diocese Bishop Hannington Mutebi during an Anglican service on New Year's Day at All Saints Cathedral in Kampala in Kampala on January 1, 2024. PHOTO/FRANK BAGUMA
What you need to know:
- The couple wed on July 12, 1975, and have four sons. Matembe revealed that the boys are now all married with a combined 13 children.
As Christians attended New Year Day prayers at All Saints Cathedral on Monday, former ethics and integrity minister turned activist Miria Matembe- and her family were in the congregation.
Towards the tail-end of the prayers, the family members, who included her husband, children and grandchildren moved to the altar for thanksgiving to God for enabling them to rarely celebrate the holidays together, considering that the Matembe children work and reside outside Uganda.
Additionally, the 70-year-old government critique and her 78-year-old husband Nekemia Matembe sought to express gratitude for clocking 48 years of marriage, an achievement that was loudly applauded by January 1 church goers.
Assistant Kampala Diocese Bishop Hannington Mutebi (L) gestures while delivering a preaching during an Anglican service on New Year's Day at All Saints Cathedral in Kampala in Kampala on January 1, 2024. PHOTO/FRANK BAGUMA
Speaking to Monitor after the Anglican service, Matembe admitted that their “union has not been an easy journey.”
“People need to know that [marriage] is a journey like any other. It will take you through valleys, rivers, mountains, thorns, through everything,” she observed.
The couple wed on July 12, 1975, and have four sons. Matembe revealed that the boys are now all married with a combined 13 children.
“Marriage is a journey which you begin with somebody you don’t know, never lived with and you don’t know where the journey is taking you,” she remarked.
“So, you must be determined to walk it in line with God. Couples cannot walk that journey alone. I can assure you that the challenges I have seen in these 48 years have not been a joke,” she added.
Activist Miria Matembe reacts alongside her family and friends, during an Anglican service on New Year's Day at All Saints Cathedral in Kampala in Kampala on January 1, 2024. PHOTO/FRANK BAGUMA
Still on Monday, Matembe urged other couples to walk their marital journeys with God especially in current turbulent times when the marriage institution is immensely under attack with divorces skyrocketing.
“God had to make me pass through certain challenges to learn and be able to build other marriages. I can assure you that if anybody comes to me for counselling and guidance and they listen to me, they rejoice thereafter,” Matembe noted.
