Eternally Grateful To FHRI... I Recovered My Home

Nampewo Matilda is a housewife aged 46 years. She is a third wife customarily married to a one Opendi James since 1988. She gave birth to seven children (some still minors) who are the youngest children in Mr. Opendi’s family. Nampewo’s home since 1988 to date is on Crescent Street, Jinja Town. Her co-wives live in the rural setting of Kayunga and Bugerere where each of them owns and carries out commercial farming on big chunks of land.

However, the difference in location of homes brought intrigue among the women because Nampewo was in the urban setting. Subsequently, her co-wives started claiming that Nampewo’s house should be their family home as well hence sent in their older children who were 30 years and above to occupy it in the interest of claiming it completely from Nampewo. The boys in the process developed other ideas and eventually tricked their elderly father into using the house as collateral security for a loan they were planning to acquire from a bank at Nampewo’s detriment. When Nampewo objected, her step children did all kind of mayhems to make Nampewo and her young children leave the home.   Mr. Opendi the husband was not helpful in protecting Nampewo and her children which forced her to seek police intervention but in vain until she approached FHRI in 2015.

FHRI intervened and organized mediation for family members at Nampewo’s home. All Mr. Opendi’s children and the wives were present for the mediation. The parties were sensitized about the laws regarding a matrimonial home and other properties. An understanding and agreement was reached where Nampewo and her young children were granted full occupancy and ownership of the house.

A subsequent follow up after the mediation revealed that Nampewo’s step children had left the house after FHRI intervention. FHRI further met with Nampewo and the husband to explore ways of protecting her legal interest in the matrimonial home. The husband agreed to transfer the certificate of title for the home into Nampewo’s names and her children. Nampewo now happily lives in her matrimonial home with her children.