WEDDING DAY, WEDNESDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 1954

 1954 was a busy year for Francis Raphael Kitime, in January he was given the responsibility of being the Headmaster of Njombe Urban Middle School, taking over from Baclon Mwakibete and it was also the year he was making his wedding plans. On Wednesday November 10^th,  1954, everything was in place. Around 9 o’clock in the morning Father Olivo of the Roman Catholic Church in Tosamaganga performed the wedding ceremony, Francis Raphael Kitime and Christina Ananias Kaberege were married,  Lucas Kambanyuma a veteran teacher at Tosamaganga Boys School as a witness for Francis and another teacher Zacharia as a witness for Christina.

A strange incident happened minutes before the marriage, one of my Francis’ aunts asked for the marriage to be called off because she had another girl called Getrude whom she thought would make a better wife for Francis. Of course he refused and marriage went on as planned, and the ceremony shifted to Msombwe, at the brides home, this was in tradition with the  Wahehe customs. In the evening the newlyweds went to Iringa to Mwalimu Raphael’s house, the grooms father.

Wedding picture 11.11.1954. Front row from left with a Kanga carryinga child Karola Kaberege (bride's elder sister,  Costanzia Ibrahimu (bride's mother), Second row 1,2,3 (unknown). Isabela Kitime (francis' sister), Francis R Kitime (groom), Christina A Kaberege (bride), Raphael Kitime, Raphel Kitimes relative. Sitting left Thadei Kaberege, right Clemence Kaberege (bride's young brothers)

The next day they boarded a bus to Njombe. On reaching the junction to Tosamaganga the bus stopped, the conductor, asked who  Francis Kitime was, and told him  he was wanted outside. Surprised he got off the bus and two Italian nuns were waiting for him outside, one was called Sister Sandra Maria they were from Tosamaganga Mission,  they told Francis that they understood he had just married but his wife was one of the teachers and they were short of teachers, could he allow his wife to continue teaching for some more time before she could join him? He was speechless to say the least, it is hard to say what could have been going on in his mind. He was a second generation  Catholic, who had been brought up not to say no to white  Catholic Missionaries and also it was during the colonial times, all Europeans were powerful. He went back to the bus and talked to his wife who agreed to stay on at Tosamaganga. She got down and Francis had to continue the journey to Njombe alone.

At the Njombe bus stand, his students and staff had planned a big reception for welcoming the headmaster’s new wife, but  Francis stepped down from the bus alone, and had to sadly relate the very unusual occurrence that had happened in Iringa.
A few weeks later during the Christmas holidays, the couple was happily together again, and decided to travel to Mbeya and visit Mwalimu Raphael, and guess what the youngsters travelled from Njombe to Mbeya on their NSU 350cc motorcycle.

By this time Francis owned  a bicycle, a gramophone and a motorcycle, he was considered a well to do young man in those days.

Sometime in 1956 he again went with his motorcycle to Mbeya, this time he went to see Princes Margaret, Queen Elizabeth's sister who was in a long African tour and was visiting Mbeya. In Mbeya he sold his motor bike and bought a 1948 model Land Rover.