Drama as woman stops wedding

A wedding was stopped on Saturday in a church in Elburgon when a woman claiming to be the groom’s wife showed up.

Lydia Achieng arrived at the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) early and informed the pastor that the groom, Charles Manoa, was her husband.

But angry church members descended on her even before she accessed the wedding hall, beating her thoroughly in front of a crowd who had threatened to storm the ceremony.

The angry woman carrying her eight-month-old son arrived at the church, but her efforts to access the church compound were cut short after armed goons and plain -lothes police officers from the nearby Elburgon police station stopped her.

Ms Achieng said she sired two children with Mr Manoa during more than two-year cohabitation, but the first born child died.

However, pastors claiming to belong to PCEA distanced themselves from the wedding, claiming that the couple had only hired the church hall for the wedding.

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“Even if the wedding proceeds, he remains my husband and the father of my children. He left us about a year ago and I only got wind of the wedding ceremony recently and lodged my complaint with the authorities,” Achieng said.

 UGANDAN NATIONAL

When the situation threatened to get out of hand, police officers whisked the groom away and it was not immediately established where he was taken.

A beautiful cake and food that had been prepared for the hundreds of guests were abandoned as they abandoned the venue.

The bride was left behind staring at the cake engraved with the names Caro and Charles.

A very angry Achieng described the man as a Ugandan national who had escaped into the country to hide and wondered why security officers led by Elburgon OCS were deployed to protect an illegal ceremony.

“This person in the first place is a wanted man in Uganda. The area chief and Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) and I should be heard,” she said.

The entrance to the church compound was locked immediately Achieng left.

Several women from the nearby Elburgon market abandoned their wares and rushed to the scene to console Achieng.