President William Ruto on Friday offered to cover the honeymoon expenses of a newlywed couple who married at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) as he unveiled the revamped eCitizen platform dubbed ‘Gava Mkononi’.
The wedding was the culmination of a digital process initiated by the couple, Nicholas and Judy, two months ago through the modernised eCitizen platform, but the solemnization ceremony was performed in front of President Ruto and hundreds of other attendees.
Before signing their marriage certificate, the couple exchanged vows live on stage in front of the President and his entire government, in a brief ceremony presided over by an Assistant Registrar from the Attorney General’s Office.
President Ruto quickly took the stage to congratulate the newlyweds.
“Congratulations Nicholas and Judy on your wedding. I’m pleased to be here. I instructed the Interior Ministry to pick at random a couple who were going to wed today. They booked their wedding online on eCitizen and I requested the Registrar to allow me to have a conversation with these good people on whether we can be a part of this event. Thank you so much for agreeing,” said President Ruto.
“Because of that I am going to sponsor four nights for the two of you in Leopard Beach Resort in Diani, Kwale County and CS Prof. Kithure Kindiki will organise your tickets and a good limousine to take you to the hotel and to pick you up as well. I wish you the best in your marriage. Pongezi.”
Ruto then advised Nicholas to be faithful to his wife, referring to an earlier statement in which the Assistant Registrar advised the groom to be faithful to his spouse from that point forward.
“Si umeskia ile maneno Registrar amesema. Utakaa hapo,” said Ruto much to the excitement of those in attendance.
High-ranking officials in President Ruto’s administration, including CS Kindiki, CS Ezekiel Machogu, and AG Justin Muturi, then presented the lovebirds with brown envelopes.
They then posed for photos with the president and Cabinet Secretaries before exiting the stage to applause from the audience.
