What started as an unusual domestic arrangement in Kagoma-Makota village, Kagoma Town Council in Jinja District, has ended with village leaders mediating a peaceful separation between two men who had been living with the same woman under one roof. Forty-six-year-old Judith Babirye had been living with Steven Orwenyi for the past 10 months after believing that her former lover, Isaac Omoding, had died.
But matters took a dramatic turn on May 3, 2026, when Omoding unexpectedly returned to the village and moved into Babirye’s one-bedroom house. According to Babirye, she decided to openly address the situation instead of hiding it. She called both men for a meeting and proposed that they coexist peacefully. Babirye explains that she had known Omoding for about a year before reports emerged that he had died, prompting her to begin a new relationship with Orwenyi.
“When Omoding returned to the village after a long time, there was no way I could deny him access to the house. This is how I resolved to live with both men, and I briefed Orwenyi about the new arrangement,” Babirye says. However, the arrangement soon became difficult. Babirye says Orwenyi became uncomfortable sharing the home with another man, and their relationship deteriorated further after she accused him of stealing household items and openly insulting her.
Feeling she could no longer cope with the situation, Babirye reported the matter to local leaders and requested that Orwenyi leave her home. The LC1 chairperson of Kagoma-Makota village, George Batema, says he was shocked when he first learned that Babirye was living with two men in the same house. He says village council members were called in to investigate before a community meeting was organised to resolve the matter peacefully.
During the meeting, Orwenyi argued that he deserved compensation before leaving because of the financial and emotional support he had offered Babirye during their relationship. “I was working as a security guard at the weighbridge and could earn 150,000 shillings monthly, which I used to hand over to her without any hesitation. I also constructed a pit latrine for her, coupled with offering companionship, which I expected Babirye to value,” Orwenyi says.
He added that Babirye was now using local leaders to push him away after he lost his source of income. “Out of respect for her, Babirye should give me at least 130,000 shillings, which will cater for both compensation and my transport back to Ngora District,” he says. Babirye told the meeting she did not have the money being demanded, prompting village leaders to organise a small fundraising drive.
According to Batema, residents contributed 32,500 shillings to facilitate Orwenyi’s transport, while Babirye agreed to clear the remaining balance of 100,000 shillings within two months. After the agreement, Orwenyi reportedly congratulated Omoding upon remaining with Babirye before village leaders escorted him to the bus park. Omoding, on his part, praised Orwenyi for choosing peace and promised to take care of Babirye and her seven children.
Following the incident, Batema warned residents against engaging in multiple relationships, saying such arrangements can easily trigger domestic violence and insecurity within communities-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
