Our love in three photos

Love is a complex emotion that elicits a range of experiences and feelings. From the highs of falling in love to the lows of heartbreak, love can be complicated. And as we prepare for Valentine’s day, we wanted to hear your stories of love.

At the Saturday Magazine desk, we have been overwhelmed by the heart-warming tales of love, and heartbreak from people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures. It was a difficult task to select the winners. But after much consideration, here are our top entries that captured the essence of love in all its forms.

Alice Ndambuki and Joseph Ndambuki

The photo was taken in September 1985, just a month after getting married. I was in my early 20s and I had just moved in with my partner in Thika. We are seated right outside our first house. The photo was taken by a local photographer who was walking around looking for work. I was anxious because I was new to marriage. The uncertainty that comes with being a new wife was overwhelming. 

Two years later, we are still in the same house, but inside. This is sometime in 1987. I was in my mid-20s. We were new parents and our firstborn was just learning to sit down. I was still learning the intricacies of motherhood and marriage life, but I was excited to be a new mother. This is the first photo we ever took as parents. The family was still small, and we would go on to have five more children. 

In late 2022, our fifth child had just graduated. She had a photo session, which we were part of. We decided to capture this one for ourselves. I was 59, and my husband was 64. I was very joyful and proud of my daughter’s graduation. The photo communicates a lot of good emotions. I turned 60 recently and I feel re-energised. I have learned a lot about love and marriage but nurturing a heart of forgiveness is the most important ingredient. We have been married for 37 years and a half.

Edwin Raiti and his wife Alice Ondieki Nyaboke 

I was a taxi driver and I had dropped a client at JKIA. I saw her and decided to try my luck. She asked if I could drive her to Kisii and that’s how it all started. This is the first photo we took at hotel Le premier in Kisii. She paid for lunch, we exchanged contacts in case she would need my services in the future, and I started my journey back to Nairobi.

After a few weeks, I decided to text her, and we’d chat about anything and everything. She told me that she was not married and was living abroad then. One year down the line, she called me using her international mobile number.  On the day she landed at JKIA, I went to pick her up and she came running towards me and gave me a kiss. The day that followed, we got some matching clothes and went to a photo studio. 

In November last year, we took this photo before we went to get married at the Attorney General's office, in Kisii county. I hope to have a church wedding soon. 

Lilian Kong'ani and her husband Tapson Mulunda

We dated for three years before getting married on August 13, 2011. The moment right here is of a naïve girl getting into something she was not clear about but she hasn’t been disappointed. I was 27. We have been together for the past 11 years and are blessed with four children.

I used to work in Nyamira and he would bring me breakfast every day, all the way from Kisumu. My pregnancy was not an easy one. Here, I was about 32 weeks pregnant with our first child. 

This photo was captured during last year’s Christmas day. This is family goals’ photo (haha). It’s the family tradition to take photos together on Christmas day.

Edwin Wandera Oduke and his ex-girlfriend Tonje Kaarvand

I am a musician and, on this day, we were shooting a video for a song that I had dedicated to her on her birthday. She got emotional and that is why she is leaning toward me. When we took this photo, our marriage plans were already underway. Unfortunately, she developed health complications and had to return to Norway. On mutual grounds, we decided that it was best that we parted ways. 

This is a special photo that tells the story of our relationship. When she went back, I had to do crazy things to sleep like covering my head with her clothes so I could feel her presence. 

This photo was captured on the same day we did the video shoot. I have only these photos and that’s why I hold them dear. I had never truly loved someone until I met her. She gave me reasons to believe in love, and I long for such love today. I am trying to move on and accept that it’s over between us, but I still have her clothes in my house. 

Josephine Mmbone and her husband Isaac Egadize

This was during one of our initial village night outs. Coincidentally, we come from the same county— Vihiga County. This day felt weird because his friends were around, and I was the new member of the club. Fitting in was a huge deal but he held my hands all along. We had been dating for six months, having first met in a club. We have been together for close to four years.

This was on my graduation day on December 18, 2020, at Chuka University. He was my plus one. In the same month, we found out I was pregnant and had dated for more than a year. At this time, neither of us had a stable job. 

In January 2021, I got my first job as a medical representative and moved to the city but in less than a month, I was fired because according to them, pregnancy would slow down operations. That was our lowest moment as we were both graduates without a stable income and expecting a baby. He did all kinds of jobs to feed us. Things are not as we wished, but we remain hopeful as we enjoy every moment.

Our son Earl's dedication Sunday. 

Grace Mekidai and Paul Musyoka

On this day two love birds (me and hubby) were just strolling around town from a nice lunch. While chatting he took out a ring and put it on my finger. He said, “My love, this is a promise ring I give it to you, and I will marry you one day.” I wore that ring a year and a half before we got married.

This was a few weeks after Valentine’s day. I remember I hadn’t slept well the previous night as I was trying to figure out how to properly apply makeup. It was one of the many photoshoots that we had together.

This picture is special to me because a few weeks prior to this shoot, we had separated and we were trying to make it work once more so we decided to go for a photoshoot. A few weeks later I found out that I was pregnant, and I realised that in this photo, I was already two weeks pregnant with my little girl.

This was our daughter’s birthday as she turned two years. Though I look happy in this photo, we were going through a lot in our marriage, and, I went back to my parent’s house at some point. Come to think of it, that's the last picture we took together. I am a strong believer that marriage works, we are still together and are continuing to understand and love each other. I really hope it's for eternity because when it ends, I am not doing the marriage thing again.

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