Mirembe says she endured endless gaslighting, abuse from former husband

Ugandan businesswoman Mirembe Irene Nagawa has spoken out about the end of her marriage to Ivan Segujja, weeks after announcing their separation.

Mirembe first communicated her break up on March 17, 2026. The decision, she said, was “based on personal reasons best known to him, and I will not be discussing this matter in the media,” she said.

She added that both parties continue to operate within a shared business environment at the Nsambya branch.

Speaking in a new podcast, Nagawa opened up about what she described as emotional and psychological abuse during the relationship.

Nagawa said she had grown weary of being manipulated and often humiliated publicly by her husband.

“I got to a point where I hated myself and wanted only one thing in the world: peace,” she said.

She said her former husband often manipulated situations and narratives, especially through social media to endear himself to the public while making her look like she was the one in the wrong.

“Men can be brazen especially if they have a social media following; they can be barefaced to a point where they make you and everyone else feel like you are the bad person,” she said.

“He told me once that he was going to post nice things about me until the whole world sees that I am the one that’s illmannered.”

“He could deny obvious wrongs, so bluntly that he even claimed some evidence was AI generated,” she said.

“So, most of the time, I had to just sit quietly; fearful of engaging him…how could you make an accusation about a person that posted you on the daily praising you as his dear wife?”

Nagawa said she endured repeated gaslighting and public humiliation, even in professional spaces. These incidents, she said, often occurred at her workplace, where she felt undermined in front of employees and partners.

“There was emotional and psychological abuse. For instance, I am a businesswoman, and often he’d come up and find me among my employers and start shouting at me. These are young people, some of whom respect me and see me as their boss and their parent, and he’d just come and belittle me in front of them,” she said.

“In business meetings he would shush me, and say, ‘Don't say anything. I am the man.’”

Nagawa said the experience affected her deeply, despite her professional success.

“I once asked God, ‘did you give me this wealth to make me suffer?’” she said.

She added that her experience has opened her eyes to the struggles many women face in silence.

“This has shown me that women endure many things, even worse than I have experienced. You can imagine, I do have a voice and a say.”

Despite the personal challenges, Nagawa assured clients that her business operations remain stable.

She runs Mirembe Beddings and Curtains, a company dealing in bedding, curtains and interior décor, with branches in Namulanda near Kennedy Stage on Entebbe Road and in Nsambya next to St Peter’s Catholic Church.

She said there is no disruption to services, orders or deliveries, and called on clients to remain calm and continue supporting the business during the transition.