Just married? Not so soon! 49 couples’ mass wedding disrupted

 

The mass wedding took place at St. Joseph's Kongoni Catholic Church in Kakamega County. [Courtesy]

At least 49 couples, who were exchanging wedding vows at the St. Joseph’s Kongoni Catholic Church in Likuyani, Kakamega County, had their nuptials disrupted on Wednesday, April 7 after police established that that Covid-19 safety measures were not being observed at the mass ceremony.

The initial plan was that four couples would enter the church, have their unions solemnised and excuse another four until the entire group could be declared married.

However, the initial plan was not stuck to, as several couples entered the venue in utter defiance of social distancing guidelines.

Police, who got wind of the happenings, rushed to the wedding location and disrupted the ceremony, ordering all couples out of the church.

The brides were photographed holding their gowns as they walked out of the church wearing a frustrated look. The bridegrooms, on the other hand, in their bespoke suits cut figures of disappointed men.

One of the bridegrooms, Katikisa Henry, told Standard Digital that the initial plan was they enter the church in turns for their respective weddings.

“Each couple was supposed to have a maximum of four attendees. However, some of us came with ten people to witness the wedding, others came with 15 guests,” he said.

Another disappointed bridegroom, Mzee Wekutu, said he failed to understand why the ceremony was disrupted by police yet, they were “observing social distancing guidelines”.

“I was excited about today as I was going to marry the love of my life. The President, [in his last address in March] had advised we keep a safe distance while seated on a bench. At the church, we were entering in small groups, until all the 49 couples could complete their weddings. However, before the mass exercise could end, police came and disrupted the ceremony,” said Wekutu.

After nearly an hour of negotiation with law enforcement officers, the couples were allowed to continue with their weddings, though with a limited number permitted to enter the church premises.

Each mass session attracted seven couples as had been capped by the church bishop.