For love or fame?

By Stevens Muendo and Charles Otieno

Celebrity weddings have been the order of the day since Nameless and Wahu tied the knot in a spectacular wedding ceremony , four years and a week ago. Soon, many celebs made a beeline for nuptials to match up to or better Wahu and Nameless’ wonderful set up at the shores of Lake Naivasha, in the serene Lake Naivasha Country Club.

Four weeks prior to Lillian’s wedding, the bug bit four of her colleagues who all tied the knot. But all is not well in the many nuptials we are a-seeing. Critics are skeptical that some of the vows are not only for love, but the fame (and allusions to romance) that comes with such weddings.

As Lillian and Moses are celebrating their honeymoon in Seychelles, rapper Abbas Kubaff is speechless after his wife Baby Gangsta (Natasha Ilum) left him. The couple walked down the aisle in November last year. And in contrast to most weddings where the couple goes to the honeymoon after exchanging vows, Abbas and Baby Gangsta headed to Gilgil for a show – not an auspicious beginning. A week later, Abbas and Baby Gangsta did another wedding at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, courtesy of Ghetto Radio. The ceremony was dedicated to fans who could not attend his exclusive wedding in leafy Karen. Critics believe Baby Gangsta’s claim to fame was her limo ride into Carnivore Grounds during the East Africa Motorshow, held in 2007. Dressed in knee-length boots, short dress and armed with swagger — she was ready for stardom! Her hook-up to Abbas was the last piece to complete the puzzle. Soon, they were making music and romance as the steamy affair finally led to tying the knot.

Abbas and Baby G’s break-up astonished their fans almost a month ago.

In fact, in what is said to have been irreconcilable differences between the two, from drinking to charges of womanising to in-law interferences, sources have it that Baby G has left the country for Norway.

The couple had collaborated in a single, and Baby G was trying to break into the local music scene. And a marriage with Abbas was a good entry point into showbiz platform for fame and fortune. Besides, her songs got dismal radio play and the reviewers were never in her favour.

"I am not sure they were in love in the first place. I think it has been a marriage of convenience. It could just have been for showbiz," said a close friend of the couple.

"They have had issues. Baby G kept on asking me how she could deal with stalkers who kept on calling and following her husband. I told her to avoid thinking of it," said the artiste who sought to remain anonymous.

And maybe Baby G’s father foresaw the break-up during the wedding held in November, last year. In his speech, the father had warned: "One (of the two) is beautiful, the other is not, one is clever, the other one is not so clever. Natasha, love your family as you can always come back. You can always get another husband."

But all is not lost as Abbas and Baby G might make-up. Just look at Big Kev’s case. After walking the aisle in a card only event a few years ago, the Tru Blaq CEO, split with his wife for a couple of months due to differences. They were eventually reconciled, and are back together, living harmoniously.

Prior to Nameless and Wahu wedding, there had been a spoiler in the picture. The girl in question was at the time a radio presenter and a beauty queen. Bitter that her dream to marry Nameless had faded into oblivion, she tirelessly gossiped. Later, she too settled down with an old friend.

To a greater extent, Nameless and Wahu have since the birth of their baby girl Tumiso managed to keep their marital life under wraps. Their woes never go beyond their bedroom. For a fact, any media speculations on such woes rarely make it to showbiz tabloid headlines.

Celebrity exposÈ and in particular, their private lives have always been a paparazzi hot sell worldwide. Like other public figures, their lives are vulnerable to media scrutiny and review.

With reports of troubled celebrity marriages becoming the latest big sell in showbiz pages, questions linger as to whether our musicians, radio and TV celebrities as well as actors are entering holy matrimony for fame, fortune or for love.

It seems to be the same fate with Uganda’s singing star Bebe Cool who parted ways with Zuena Kirema earlier in the year.

Their bitter break up seemed irreconcilable!

Zuena even moved into the neighbourhood with another man. But recently, the estranged couple met and are said to be set for reunion. It is said that the couple will denounce their differences during the much-publicised Bebe Cool’s album launch to be held in some few weeks time.

"We have been in the middle of negative media scrutiny, and this has put so much pressure on my private life. The line between my showbiz and private life is so thin. All the same, I never married Zuena just for show," Bebe exclusively told Pulse.

"Zuena is a model and a celebrity in her own right, who has come to be a darling of the press in Kampala. Now, she is even set to launch her singing career".

Two other Kenyan celebrity marriages are said to be on the rocks. The involvedplayers have been accusing each other of marital unfaithfulness.

Regardless, the two couples have been careful not to wash their dirty linen in the public. They hold hands, smile, pose for photos together, before leaving celebrity couples in different cars to our great curiosity and general skepticism.

Budding Ogopa singer Kenzo recently called Pulse to report about his break-up with his singer girlfriend Maurysh — who had cheated on him with his fellow singer.

But a week later, the two were once again an item with Kenzo saying they had sorted their differences getting us to wonder if it was yet another publicity stunt – although Kenzo also looks like the type to be easily cuckolded by the enchanting beauty of Maurysh.

Eyebrows have been raised as the shift went to TV girls and radio presenters, whose on and off affairs with prominent personalities among them trophy-clande seeking politicians, have been the talk of town.

The question has been as to whether they date the politicians for love, money or fame.

"Those beautiful girls are celebrities and any man in town would never mind dating them, married or single," argues DNG, a singer and radio presenter.

"Sometimes it is a give-and-take kind of relationship. There are benefits for each, and I don’t think it’s always about love," he adds. Recently DNG also split from his beau Joy (Can U Dance host and Capital FM presenter). The two are still trading accusations on whose fault it was. Call it fame or show!

In conclusion, we must mention three weddings that are going on okay in spite of initial skepticism –— that of Big Ted to a doctor; Nasty Thomas to an air hostess; and the biggest player in town before he got married last year — the incomparable CMB Prezzo, whom even TPF hostess (and one of the hottest singles in town) Sheila Mwanyiga had adjudged " Play boy, toy boy, but ahoy, not hubby material."

Let’s hope we do not see too many evictions from the Big Celebrity House of Marriages.