By Alex Balimwikungu
Getting a tattoo for someone you love seems heartfelt and beautiful. However, not all tattoos are a good idea, especially when a break-up happens.
The only thing that makes a break-up worse is knowing that the tattoo serves as a constant reminder of a relationship that is no more.
Celebrities over the years have given different reasons for getting their significant half’s name emblazoned on their bodies.
It isn’t the Ariana Grandes or the Angelina Jolies or the Amber Roses doing it. It is a culture we have embraced here in Uganda. Many of our Ugandan celebrities have etched their lovers’ names on their body parts.
What if they break up? That is where real stars and the struggling stars are told apart. Whereas the Angelina Jolies of this world have no problems paying up to sh1m per session for laser removal of tattoos, which sometimes takes six sessions (sh6m), our celebrities have opted for cheap removal methods and ended up looking tacky.
TV personality and singer Sherry Matovu is the latest to have her lover’s name erased. The on again, off again couple had a reunion last year. With cameras rolling, the mother of four of Thaddeus Katumba’s children purred about her renewed love for him.
“He was my first love – I fell and I fell hard, we both did. We truly believed that no one in the history of the world had loved as hard and as passionately as we did,” she said last year.
Sherry unveiled a tattoo to show her commitment and affection upon the reunion. “Till My Last Breath, Katts,” it read. ‘Katts’ is an abbreviation of her husband’s surname, Katumba.
Just yesterday (Wednesday), after a few months, Sherry came out and revealed they were not destined to end up together. When their love ended, she visited a tattoo parlour and replaced the tattoo with two tacky-looking eagles.
Once upon a time, Prima Kardashi and singer Geosteady were steady lovers. She had his name tattooed on her leg. Following their break-up, Prima, who has since moved on with a new lover, had the tattoo carefully curated to have a rose flower drawn on her leg.
The irony is that when Shanita Namuyimba (Bad Black) and her toy boy Asha had each other’s names inked on their respective bodies two years ago, many thought they would erase them. They are going stronger and all indications from Bad Black is that Asha is that one person missing in her life and his name is worth keeping.
Top tattooed Ugandan female celebrities
Although some critics still believe that getting/ having a tattoo is a bad idea, others believe it’s good because people go through the pain of getting tattoos to bring out what they feel inside their hearts.
Some female celebrities who have followed the fad include Barbie Kyagulanyi (she has a tattoo of her husband’s face on the back. She got this tattoo before their wedding in 2011, and it’s one of a kind).
Singer Ali Bukenya alias Nubian Li’s wife Gloria Mutoni inked a big tattoo of her husband’s face on her back while he languished in Kitalya prison.
The Kyanja Parish LC3 councilor-elect disclosed that she inked the tattoo on her back as a way of expressing her feelings for her husband.
Sheebah
Barbie Kyagulanyi
“I wanted something permanent for my hubby,” she revealed.
We shudder to think, but should either Bobi or Nubian Li develop issues in their marriages, their spouses will have to go for the blackout tattoos.
A blackout tattoo is when a large section of the body (typically arms or legs) are inked with a solid, opaque covering of black ink. Basically, these tattoos are created by filling in a large area on the body with nothing but black ink, like colouring in a whole colouring page black.
Blackout tattoos are sometimes used to cover up older ink.
Other popular females with tattoos include Sheebah Karungi (tattoo on her left leg and upper torso), Irene Ntale (left hand with guitar symbol), Nina Roz and Cindy Sanyu.
Irene Ntale performing
