Witchcraft allegations mar wedding

By James Mwangi

The sight of a man shedding tears is unbearable and one that should never be made fun of. So it wasn’t funny when a senior elder, in Murang’a County wept uncontrollably a day before a priest, out of sympathy, allowed him to renew wedding vows with his wife.

Mr Ng’ang’a, 81, was dumbfounded and lost for words when the priest meant to preside over his wedding temporarily objected to it and called for its cancellation, citing wickedness in his family.

The old man, with his mouth agape, was perturbed when the priest declared his intended renewal of vows null and void. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his partner shyly scanned the taken aback group of friends and relatives.

The intervention of catechists and church elders to persuade the steadfast cleric had initially fallen on deaf ears.

“The statement struck our ears with a bang. At first I thought my ears were lying but when he reiterated and the bridegroom started weeping reality sank home,” says Jane Wangui, a member of the church choir.

The man who works in the city is a devoted faithful, but his wife is suspected to have links with witchcraft, an allegation that has spoiled her family’s reputation. The gory details of her wicked background had been reported to the church’s priests whilst wedding plans were underway.

“As usual, the Parish is informed of involved parties religious background before the priest presides over their mass. And this is how the priest learnt of the old woman’s suspicious ways,” a church leader intimated to Crazy Monday.

After a laborious process, the shocker came on the eve of the ceremony when the Father who was to preside over the renewal of vows summoned the man, a few of those who had been assisting in plans and some church elders. And that is where the unfortunate news regarding the cancellation was broken.

The old geezer couldn’t contain himself. He collapsed in disbelief, cried hysterically and pleaded with the man of God to spare him the humiliation and let the ceremony proceed. He even went down on his knees. The priest was persuaded.

News of the developments of the planned ceremony went round the village causing a huge crowd to attend the ceremony the following day, pregnant with expectations.

The priest took time to issue a stern warning to those in attendance and urged them to strictly adhere to the teachings of the Good Book, failure to which, he would not preside over their functions.