A true Ugandan wedding is one that fetches people from every nook and cranny, to celebrate a couple, make merry and trip the light fantastic.
It is also one where love prevails, and it is oftentimes said that a wedding leads to other weddings because guests use the moment to spot their targets and execute them.
Speaking of targets and execution, a wedding that started with so much pomp and fun on 26th June 1994 in Naguru, a Kampala suburb would end up in a bloody massacre after one of the guests had his ego bruised.
Richard Komaketch, a soldier at the rank of a private attached to Uganda’s Military was smitten with a female guest identified as Irene Ati and had been waiting for the opportune moment to walk her down the dance floor.
Alas, indeed the time came and Komaketch decided it was in his best interests to engage Irene in a dance, but the latter turned him down.
Upset beyond calm, Komaketch started to riot audibly, refusing to accept the answer before his eyes, he turned a nuisance and insisted on dancing with the female guest prompting people around to act.
He was asked to leave the premises, marking an unceremonious end to his wedding dance cameo.
Rejected, ejected and angry, Komaketch went to pick up his gun, returning 10 minutes later and opening fire amidst the music.
One of the guests and a survivor at the party Mutumba Lule said that when Komaketch released the trigger, the wedding had turned quickly into a bloodbath.
“The girl who refused to dance with the soldier was one of those who died on the spot,” Mutumba said in a press interview later.
Ten (10) people according to a police report, died instantly, four (4) died a few moments later while 12 died succumbed to bullet wounds in hospital.
After felling that huge guest number, Komaketch turned the gun to himself, shooting through his head. Alas, it was not yet his time, he did not die.
When police dashed to the scene, they found Komaketch still alive, they cordoned off the area to prevent guests as well from killing him.
However, Irene Ati’s father who was also at the event, broke into the cordoned-off area and smashed Komaketch’s skull, bringing the number of the dead to 26 and of course the wedding to a sad abrupt end.