The DNA results of the late Kadongo Kamu star Paul Kafeero are set to be released this week, which could hopefully resolve a 19-year-old family dispute, according to a story I read in the Daily Monitor. Balaam Barugahara, the Minister of Local Government, announced that the results will be disclosed on Thursday, June 25, at the police headquarters in Naguru.
This will be a public hearing. It is reported that more than 25 young individuals claim to be his children. What a complicated situation! It is astonishing to think that someone could be deceased for 19 years and still have their family involved in disputes over worldly matters.
Sounds a lot like the wife who wakes her husband up at 2am because they need to talk. She is angry at him for something he did last year and cannot sleep, so she shakes him and tells him to get up and talk.
I honestly think it is sad. Sad that people would disturb the dead like that. What is wrong with children of these days?
No respect for elders, now even the dead! But it also speaks to the fact that dying does not take your problems away.
They will follow you to the grave, and in this case, literally. So please, whatever you do, get your ducks in a row. Take care of your business. Write a will or something; otherwise there will be no resting in peace for you.
I know I speak naively when I say rousing dead bones for property is crazy because these days people will even kill for land and other kinds of property, but seriously, ain’t it crazy that it has come to this?
Fine, let me put myself in the publicly known family’s shoes for some perspective. So, before the father died, we knew who our siblings were, even those from other mothers. Father sings, plays his guitar, becomes famous, meets many fans, among them women swooning over him, maybe sires some children with them, etc. We get to know about these siblings out there.
We do not like them, but we know they exist. Fast forward: the famous singer dad dies, and other unknown people show up and start claiming that they too are his children. And they obviously want a part of his estate. Would we welcome them with open arms, or would we be part of the people asking for the exhumation of a 19-year-old corpse?
Here is another scenario. If you were Paulo Kafeero’s illegitimate child, had never been introduced to the rest of the family or maybe had at some point in time, but had never lived with them. After his death, would you fight this hard to be recognised as his child by the other family if they did not want you?
Me as me, I would not fight. Even if the deceased was the richest man in Babylon, pride would not let me. I would rather die like a broke ninja.
Instead, I would use the anger, bitterness and gift of rejection as fuel to work so hard and make my own money, enough to pay for good therapy and work towards healing and dealing with my daddy wounds. Then, if I were truly the musician’s child, I would probably have a dash of musical talent in me. So, I would write a Kadongo Kamu song about this whole thing or maybe a movie or book.
Because bambi, to quote Michael Jackson, I am a lover, not a fighter. Although these days love is a battlefield and the violent want to take it by force. In fact, wasn’t it Ugandan artist Maro who sang in Luganda that, ‘Love filimu ya masasi. Loosely translated, it means love is an action movie with lots of bullets being fired. Think John Rambo movies.
Anyway, I digress. My point remains that there is no way I am taking part in digging up graves in the name of DNA. I know I sound self-righteous, but I am just saying.