By Stephen Akabway
Much as Uganda’s top celebrity entertainer Joseph Mayanja whose stage name is Jose Chameleon claims to be the owner of the beautiful residence in the United States where his estranged wife, Daniella Atim’s stays with their children, truth of the matter is that an Italian Christian priest, the late John Scalabrin, who was Daniella’s foster father, was the one who purchased it.
Scalabrin who was involved in charity work that he would conduct from his former residence in Luzira-Bbina in Nakawa Division, passed away on October 4, 2016 aged 83 years having arrived in Uganda from Italy as a young missionary Catholic priest way back in 1964.
Scalabrin groomed Daniella from a tender age, conducted her nuptials with Chameleon, chartered a plane that picked Chameleon from Tanzania after he had fallen from a storied structure and broken his legs, offered shelter to Chameleon and his family after a young man called Karamagi was doused in petrol and died at their residence in Seguku six miles along Entebbe-Kampala road and wooed Chameleon back to Catholicism after he had dramatically joined the Islamic faith.
John who resented Chameleon’s mannerism of torturing his adopted daughter, excessive use of alcohol and outlawed drugs, purchased the residence in the United States so that Daniella could after his demise escape there and stay away from her abusive and alcoholic husband.
The deceased strictly purchased the residence in the names of Daniella and her children’s names and decreed that her daughter should only stay in that residence without Chameleon.
Scalabrin’s wish was put in his last will drafted on his behalf by a Ugandan eminent lawyer and retired court of appeal justice, Remmy Kyonooneka Kasule while he was lying on his death bed at St Francis Nsambya Hospital.
The deceased sent for Kasule and dictated what he wished to be put in his last will while the veteran lawyer was drafting the document.
Compellingly, Daniella never stayed in the US residence while she was still married to Chameleon in Uganda and only moved there after unofficially separating with the Badilisha hit composer and singer.
More compellingly, Daniella relocated to the US with her children who are the joint owners of the residence there as per the late Scalabrin’s last will.
Whereas Chameleon visited Daniella previously, he just went to her residence strictly to check on his children not to enjoy conjugal rights with his estranged wife much as he would use those visits and passionately try to woo Daniella to give him a second family chance but which advances Daniella flatly and very firmly rejected.
Little wonder, years later, Daniella is applying to courts of law to formally separate her from Chameleon forever, something to which the veteran singer isn’t fundamentally opposed to. What court will struggle hammering out are the terms of the duo’s divorce which could involve sharing of the state, custody of the children and allocating post-divorce responsibility. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
