Mum’s the Word:  Doreen Bugingo keeps dad in limbo on marriage, US dreams

What is the best way for an ageing, estranged father to communicate with his adult daughter who has cut him out of her life?  

How does the father overcome the sadness of estrangement from their adult child? These sound like rhetorical questions, which House of Prayer Ministries’ Pastor Aloysius Bujjingo would need immediate answers to. 
 
Six years after his widely publicised separation from Teddy Naluswa, a mother of four of his children, he has extended an olive branch to the children. The children are Doreen Gift Bugingo, Winnie Treasure Bugingo, Jennifer Blessed Bugingo and Isaac Miracle Bugingo. His sermons lately are filled with tears and revelations of how he misses his children, notably his firstborn, Doreen.  

However, the children, led by his eldest daughter, Doreen Gift Bugingo, 32 next month, have articulated their feelings. They insist he doesn’t miss them but rather wants to mess with their already settled lives.

Bugingo, who married Teddy in 2003, made disrespectful remarks about her, leading to a strained relationship with their older daughters.  She lived with the children at their matrimonial home in Kitende, Wakiso District.
 
Bujjingo’s decision to immediately consort with Susan Makula shortly after the separation angered many of his children, leading to a further strain on their relationship. He disowned them.
 
Doreen gifted
All through the debacle and heartache, Doreen Gift graduated with a Master of Science degree in Telecommunication Engineering from Makerere University and is now employed as an Infrastructure Engineer at the Ministry of ICT.
 
However, the news of her latest achievement caught many off guard. She is set to join the 2025 Mandela Washington Fellowship at Arizona State University after being selected by the U.S. Mission in Uganda. The exciting news was revealed by the US Embassy Kampala on their social media handles, describing Doreen as a person who is passionate about driving Uganda’s digital transformation through projects that expand broadband connectivity, promote digital skills, and enhance e-service delivery. The initiative is part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), which aims to empower young people to grow as leaders in public service and technology. 
 
Doreen’s appointment was met with excitement from social media users.
 
Ironically, Doreen was coy to talk about it, only dwelling on the promotion and senior position she had received at the Ministry of ICT.

“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Senior ICT Infrastructure Engineer at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance,” she said Tuesday.  

However, on her LinkedIn profile is a photo of her proud mother posing next to US Ambassador to Uganda William W. Popp.
 
With talk of Doreen’s impending wedding, it is also seemingly unlikely that Bugingo will engage in the father-daughter dance, a European-traditional part of wedding receptions, where the father dances with his daughter, symbolising her transition from his care to her new life with her spouse.