Daniella Atim with whom singer Jose Chameleone has five children has finally lifted the lid on the long-held speculation that the two ended their marriage.
Chameleone and Daniella exchanged marriage vows in 2008 but seven years later, their marriage hit the rocks after Daniella reportedly moved out of the singer’s house and was gone for four months, according to Chameleone’s own account.
She later in 2017 filed for divorce citing physical assault resulting from Chameleone’s alcoholism.
However, the two have managed to keep the issue of their separation under wraps for many years. While Daniella has since ditched her wedding ring, Chameleone still wears it. When Daniella and the children left Uganda and relocated to the U.S. five years ago, speculation began to brew as to whether the two had finally separated.
Daniella has continuously used her Instagram account to publicly state that she is a survivor of domestic abuse and called out Chameleone’s family for doing little to tame the violent tendencies exhibited by the Mayanja brothers – especially Chameleone and Weasel.
But it is perhaps Daniella’s post on Sunday that confirms what many have suspected for long – that her marriage with the Kipepewo singer is irreparable.
In the post, she revealed that she moved to the U.S. fleeing the violence meted out to her by Chameleone.
Adding that her marital problems affected her social life, something she is only beginning to enjoy now.
“I moved to the U.S. exactly 5 years ago and sought asylum from many things including domestic violence that I endured for 16 years,” Daniella wrote in the Sunday post on Instagram.
She stated that she is a single mom and that she is raising her 5 children – Abba (18), Alfa (15), Alba, Amma (11) and Xara (6) – on her own.
“Even though the age I am turning this year sounds too serious, I am choosing to live my early life while healing my nervous system,” said the mother who turns 40 this year. She says her faith is anchored in Jesus.
It isn’t the first time she is hinting at her willingness to pursue love again. In November last year, she wrote a letter to herself in which she wished love would be kinder to her this time round.
“Dear Daniella, when love visits you again I hope it doesn’t expect you to suffer, that it doesn’t try to deceive you into thinking you have to go through trials and tribulations to be found worthy,” the letter read in part.
“I hope it doesn’t come in form of a litmus paper, putting you through ridiculous tests. I hope you give it a warm welcome, letting go of all the pain and the hurt from the past, in order to make room for it.”
She embedded her latest message in a song – Anaka by Geoffrey Oryema – perhaps to symbolize the melancholy of the recent phase of her life and what she yearns for. In the lyrics, Oryema asks God to show him the way, lead him through darkness and take him to a place where he can see light.
Her latest revelation (that she fled the country seeking asylum and that she has had to raise her kids by herself) contradicts with what the ex-husband has previously stated. While visiting one of the local churches five years ago, Chameleone gave testimony and claimed he had asked Daniella to join their eldest son Abba in the U.S. since he had been offered a scholarship there.
“Abba and his other sibling were already in the U.S. And I was worried they would pick up bad habits. So, I told my wife to carry the rest of the kids and move to the U.S so she can take care of them,” the singer said in his testimony in May of 2019.
“I left the six of them in my friend’s basement. But I prayed to God for a miracle. And He answered my prayers. I was able to buy them a house in the U.S,” he added.
Last year in September was the first time Daniella gave the public a glimpse into what life in the U.S. was like in the initial days. She described the difficult conditions – a cold dingy basement room that flooded every spring – and how she was gone for several days to work (‘kyeyo’) and left Abba in charge of his four siblings including the last born who was only a few months old.
Further recollecting how she badly wanted her children to attend good schools and also be able to drink milk every day, which forced her to take on two full-time jobs. The long post did not give any credit to Chameleone. Rather, she mentioned how God “brought total strangers that helped us along the way”.
Another plausible explanation for the incoherent accounts and Daniella’s relentless posts about her experience with domestic violence could be that the two took a calculated decision to publicly sell the domestic violence narrative. That way, it would concretize Daniella’s case to apply for asylum in the U.S and make it possible to resettle the entire family there.
People fleeing domestic violence have better odds of getting asylum under U.S. laws. One of the grounds could be that the police in the asylum seeker’s country is unable to protect them or when circumstances are such that the victim is in a relationship they are unable to leave. In Daniella’s case, much as she filed for divorce, the husband declined to sign the papers.
Going by this line of thought, it would make sense why Daniella cannot therefore be seen to be kind or amiable towards her ex-husband.
Daniella filed for divorce in April 2017 after what she said were years of cruelty and repeated domestic violence. At the heart of the singer’s record of violence is impatience and a short temper, both traits being at extreme levels. This is according to Daniella.
In the divorce suit filed before Nakawa Court in April 2017, her lawyers wrote; “The respondent (Chameleone) has resorted to binge drinking and on each occasion he comes back home, he beats up the petitioner (Daniella) without any cause or valid reason.”
In the same application, Daniella shared the ordeal she had endured, revealing she had sustained wounds and scars on her face which she constantly had to cover. The wounds were as a result of violence occasioned by her husband, she told court.
The court application went as far as stating that because of the constant beating, Daniella “cannot even sleep at night worrying that the respondent may kill her”.
Then 33-year-old, Daniella who was brought up under a strong religious orientation, having been raised by deceased Italian missionary, Rev. Father John Scalabrini, said Chameleone often disrespected her and demeaned her before their children.
The singer was quick to deny claims in a Facebook live broadcast. He said he would not sign the divorce papers as he still loved her very much.
A year later, after efforts to resolve the marital issues hit a snag, the singer announced the two had separated.
“I let you be Daniella. God bless you always. I can’t prove myself more than I have,” Chameleone wrote in a post in September of 2018, a few months after the birth of their youngest daughter, Xara.
One of Uganda’s iconic singers, Chameleone’s pattern of violence extends beyond the walls of his household. Throughout his music career, he has often come under public scrutiny over his violent behavior.
ALSO READ: Some say there was a higher power behind the ‘Gwanga Mujje’ tragedy. Chameleone agrees, or maybe not
Days to his Gwanga Mujje concert in February last year, a video of Chameleone beating up a boda boda rider went viral online, prompting sharp criticism towards the singer. There were calls for justice for the victim. Despite public interest, these calls achieved little because law enforcement said they could do little without the victim filing a case.
On the day of his concert, a heavy downpour with strong winds forced the stage to collapse forcing the organizers to postpone the event. Though many condoled with the singer, a few dissenting voices argued it was good riddance.
“Everything that happens, happens for a reason. There have been bad prayers aimed toward Chameleone. We must admit Chameleone has done many wrongdoings. So many. And it’s time he repented. What happened was because of people’s prayers,” popular event promoter, Abby Musinguzi alias Abitex told the press shortly after the tragedy.
