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Why celebrity weddings in Kenya are public property

 Bob Collymore wedding; and (left) Emmy Kosgei with her hubby      Photo:Courtesy

No sooner had rumors about Emmy Kosgei’s wedding become public, than everyone waited with bated breath to see the Nigerian Apostle who had stolen the ‘Kenyan Queens’ heart.

However, this wasn’t the ordinary wedding expectation. No! People wanted to understand why Emmy Kosgei was ditching Kenyan suitors for an older Nigerian man. Were Apostles even allowed to marry younger women like Emmy? They seethed. How old was this Nigerian Apostle who was alleged to have children of his own and if indeed he had a family, what happened to them? Worse still, was Emmy Kosgei demeaning the religious values that had been accepted as norms?

The questions were endless. But Emmy was determined to live her fairytale wedding. And so it happened at the Windsor gardens, where dignitaries and high profile religious leaders from Kenya and Nigeria showed up as witnesses to the matrimonial covenant, as Kenyans ranted on social media.

But as controversial weddings go, Wambui Otieno defied convention to marry a much younger (and poor) suitor at a time when women were to be heard and not seen. With women roles relegated to the kitchen and bearing kids, Wambui 67, a freedom fighter and politician, had boldly come out to wed Mbugua, 29, who was a carpenter at her home.

Rather than having a public scrutiny filed wedding Wambui and Mbugua had their marriage solemnized at the Attorney General Chambers. The country went bananas! It took the equally feisty and independent minded Orie Rogo-Manduli to tell elderly women saying Wambui had ‘shamed’ them by a marrying a ‘boy’ to go to hell.

Then there was Jimmy Gathu, a celebrated media personality who married Cathy amidst controversy that she already had a child to her name. Many were in shock that such an admirable bachelor had defied convention to marry a single mother yet many women were baying for his attention.

It is within this context that the hullabaloo surrounding Bob Collymore’s recent wedding to Wambui must be viewed. Women, who had never set eyes on Wambui, labelled her a gold digger trying to trap the renowned CEO.

Yes, so many angry women across social media felt entitled to pass judgment upon the bride —as if their Safaricom subscriber’s status entitled them to a ringside seat in the CEO’s personal life!

-Sheila Kimani

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