This is a legacy edition story. True stories of past pregnancies in yester days (or years), as published in Pregnant Magazine.

---

Bebe Cool and Zuena celebrate second baby

When Zuena Kirema met Uganda’s reggae dancehall king Moses Ssali – better known as Bebe Cool—on 25 January 2002, she thought he was out for some fun with her and naturally she played hard to get initially. She was then a model and a relatively well-known local beauty having participated in the Miss Uganda Beauty Pageant in 200l.

That evening she was at a welcome party for Miss Uganda, who was returning from the Miss World competition in China. Bebe Cool, a much-admired young musician, as he still is today, was performing. He asked her out but she declined. ‘I thought he was just out to play around with me: says Zuena looking at her husband with a warm smile. I told him he could give me his number and ‘maybe I will give you a call.’

She went home thinking she had survived his antics. However, Bebe had sowed a love seed that would blossom in Zuena. Sooner than she believed, she found herself giving him a call. She hadn’t survived his spell after all!

Wedding ceremony

Four years later, Zuena has given birth to their second baby Sophie Ssali, born in Kampala on 10 January 2007. Alpha Ssali, their first born, was delivered on 29 December 2003, shortly after she married Bebe Cool. ‘We courted for almost two years and got married on 12 September 2003’, she explains. It was a civil wedding. ‘Later in 2005 we had nikko, a Muslim wedding: adds Bebe Cool. They have not yet had a public wedding ceremony.

Busy as ever, Bebe Cool has just returned from USA on a trip that took him away from the family for some weeks. As the team from Pregnant relaxes in his lounge at home in an upmarket Kampala suburb, he talks passionately about his family and career, at one time glancing at a large portrait of himself and the Necessary Noize duo, Nazizi and Wyre, with whom he recently performed the popular hit ‘East African Bashment Crew’.

I did not have anything then

‘She’s a good wife: he states proudly. ‘When I am away I definitely worry about her. I call her regularly whether I am in the country or out. It’s definitely been tough for her because both of us are in showbiz. When I met her she was a model, the most attractive woman ever in the industry.’

He reveals, ‘When I met her she was a young girl but she still made the biggest decision a woman can make. I did not have anything then; Zuena has made me who I am today. She said to me, ‘Moses, let’s make a home.’ We put up one and I asked her for a baby. She said, ‘As long as you take care of me.”

‘The decision to start a family is not an easy one. It is difficult to balance between work and family, especially at our age.’ Nevertheless, he loves Zuena selflessly. ‘She is respectful and full of patience: he states.

When Zuena finally appears, she is not the tired and sleepy ‘new’ mum one would have expected just three days after the delivery of their baby girl. She looks truly stunning!

I always felt uncomfortable, hot, and my veins hurt

The second pregnancy was anticipated. ‘It was more planned than the first one: adds Zuena. ‘My first pregnancy though, was easier,’ she says, making sure her relaxed outlook is not taken to mean she has not gone through what all new mums do. Her first pregnancy was a smooth one and was not as unsettling as the second one. She only felt the heaviness of the bulge.

‘This one was tiring. I always felt uncomfortable, hot, and my veins hurt. The morning sickness was overwhelming and it went on into the twelfth week.’ Luckily, both pregnancies did not come with anything out of the ordinary to force her to see a doctor. She was induced for both deliveries. She narrates, ‘For the first pregnancy I was induced intravenously for three hours. I took tablets during the second pregnancy. Labour lasted twelve hours.’

He was traumatized

Bebe Cool was in the delivery room when Alpha was born and says he was traumatized. ‘He hasn’t changed: she says. ‘He’s a loving person. He was scared! He told me he saw a lot of blood and thought I was going to die.’ He got overwhelmed in the delivery room instead of urging her to push!

Zuena made sure Bebe Cool was not in the delivery room when Beata was delivered early this year. She first asked him to wait at the reception, then later told him, ‘I have a very long way to go, you can go out and do something’. He went to watch a soccer match. After about an hour I called him and said, ‘You  know what? I am through!’

Their new baby, Sophie Beata Ssali, is named after Zuena’s mother, Sophie, with the additional name ‘Beata’ meaning blessing from God. It also represents letter ‘B’ to signify she is the second child in the family. She was 2.9 kilograms at birth and was born at Nsambya Hospital in Kampala. Alpha Thierry Ssali is named after the Arsenal soccer star Thierry Henry. ‘A’ also stands for the first letter of the alphabet, signifying he is the first born. Alpha already looks like a soccer star, with sporty dreadlocks. ‘At first Alpha did not want to look at the baby: Zuena notes ‘but now he loves her and is getting very protective.’

She can add another two, if not three babies

During her last pregnancy, Zuena received a lot of media attention. ‘I always had to drive in my car with the tinted windows rolled up. I tried my best not to be in the public view until I had my baby.’ Bebe Cool also acknowledges that it has been tough for Zuena appearing in public while pregnant. He attributes this limelight to their careers in showbiz.

Does Zuena plan to go back to beauty contests? ‘Why? No, I am happy where I am: she says firmly. She did that at the time because it was fun. She also does not see herself doing more modelling unless she is offered a lucrative contract. Her body has coped well with two babies. One need not look at her too keenly to believe this. Bebe Cool agrees and adds, ‘I want Zuena to be through with having babies by the time she is 29, then she can go back to the catwalk: says Bebe Cool. ‘She is still in her early twenties and she can add another two, if not three babies,’ he says.

‘I look at how I can make my marriage last forever: he explains. ‘One of the things I consider is how to maintain my wife so that she stays attractive. The most dangerous times are definitely the thirties and beyond:

So when should their fans expect to hear about their next baby? ‘In not more than two years from now: says Bebe Cool. ‘I am looking for twins, and I am planning for it because with today’s technology it can be done. If she has twins, she will only have one more child to go.

END:PG 05 FEB-MAR 07/39-41