Sometimes people assume I'm her taxi driver- The love story of Dj Moz and Deborah Kimathi

 DJ Moz, a TV host and the leader of Kubamba Krew (K-Krew), and his family Photos: Courtesy

The hospital staff at Aga Khan was greeted by an unusual sight during the visiting hours one day in 2008. Here was a Kenyan man dressed in a kilt (the Scottish traditional attire for men) which to them is basically a skirt, accompanied by a white woman in a wedding dress.

Moses Mathenge, popularly known as DJ Moz, and his wife Deborah Kimathi had just gotten married that day. It was on October 17, 2008, when one of their wedding guests was involved in a car accident on his way home. They had decided to see him at the hospital after the reception on their way to their evening party, thus creating the odd scene at the hospital.

Besides their compassionate nature, the interracial couple has had to acquire a sense of humour too. "Sometimes when we arrive somewhere together, people assume I'm her taxi driver. The gate man sees us and says, 'Oh taxi, eh?' It has happened so often that now I just go along with it."

DJ Moz, a TV host and the leader of Kubamba Krew (K-Krew), is one of the top Christian DJs in the country. This means that sometimes they have to deal with fans that recognise him in public. "When we go out, we do not really have the luxury of complete privacy," says Deborah. "Some will want to just say hi or take a selfie - everywhere you go, someone is watching."

The two met in 2005 at a church event in Mavuno Downtown where Moz was supposed to be the deejay. "They came to pick me up and I had not realized she was in the car when I got in. Then suddenly I hear someone speaking and I wonder who the American girl trying to speak English with a Kenyan accent was. "Why can't she just speak normally?" I mused.

He turned out to be wrong on both counts, as Deborah is Scottish, not American and she was not faking an accent. She had been in Kenya for three years working with an NGO -Vision Africa, and was so used to interacting with Kenyans that it came naturally to her. She speaks and mixes Kiswahili with English like a native.

The two exchanged numbers that day, though they both lost their phones so did not communicate until four months later when they met again. "After that we hung out a lot before we started dating," says Moz. "We had visited a friend in Runda and after lunch we decided to take a walk and that was when I realized she was the one and used the 'L-word'.

Deborah reveals that the 'L-word' was 'like', because Moz was not ready to commit and decided to delay it as long as possible. They had also both just come out of serious relationships, so they remained friends for a year and a half after that before they actually started dating.

Moz back then had a hugely popular Christian radio show called Kubamba that ran on weekends. The show, hosted by about five deejays from would run until midnight, then they would all head on over to her house where she would have supper ready for them in the dead of the night. "I guess that was one of the ways we knew it was true love because not many people will do that," she says smiling.

His first attempt at a proposal did not go so well. Deborah was flying out that night, and it had rained heavily. Traffic was also insane and there was an electricity outage at her place, where Moz was planning on proposing. He also did not have a real engagement ring and instead used one that he always wore.

He made up for it by proposing a second time a month to the wedding. "We had been asked to read some verses from the Song of Solomon," says Moz. "Everyone including the pastor was surprised when I went down on one knee and did it right."

They got married a month later at the Royal Palm in Karen, a wedding that was a mix of Scottish and African culture. The six groomsmen and the groom wore kilts hired by relatives from Britain and apart from a few other feature Scottish traditions; everything else was done Kenyan style.

They now have two children - Zara, 5 and Alba 3, and another is on on the way. "The downs in marriage fade in comparison to the ups," says Moz. "Looking back, the only thing I would change is that I would have married her earlier."