Tana River church suspends wedding after couple confesses to 'fornication'
A Tana River County couple was compelled to postpone their wedding after admitting to their pastor that they were engaging in pre-marital sex.
A couple from Tana River County will have to postpone their wedding for a year after admitting to their pastor that they were engaging in pre-marital sex.
Alice Hawachu and Peter Menza (not their real names) of the Evangelical Church were due to marry at King's Glory Church in Malindi on 12 August as previously announced in the church.
However, during the couple's confession and counselling session, Mr Menza, who is a new member of the church, confessed to engaging in intercourse with his future wife when asked if they had ever been intimate before.
Things took a turn when the bride-to-be, who is a long-term member of the church, denied ever having been intimate with the man during her confession session.
This prompted Pastor Eli Mwakisha to call the groom into the chambers and ask him to confirm his confession, which he did.
The pastor, who felt he was being taken for a ride, became angry and threatened to curse the couple and announce publicly that he would annul the marriage if they did not come clean.
"At this point, the bride-to-be got down on her knees and asked for forgiveness, confessing that they had indeed been intimate a few times during their year-long courtship," said Mark Siu, a member of the wedding committee.
Disappointed, the pastor kicked the couple out of his office and called the intercession team to seek God's word on the matter.
After two hours of intense prayer, he called them back to his office and told them to separate and put the wedding plans on hold for the next 12 months, noting that this was God's instruction.
"So they were instructed to use the time to repent and pray, but also to make sure that they attend couples' counselling every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday evening for that time," said Helida Kase, a prayer leader at the church.
They were also assigned an older couple to mentor them and three members of the Prayer Warriors team to support them in prayer.
The changes to the wedding have since been announced on the church's WhatsApp group, with the church administrator keeping a low profile.
According to the church administrator, the church committee had given the couple plenty of time to prepare properly for the wedding, which will take place in April next year.
Approached for comment, the pastor refused to give details of what had happened, saying it was against policy.
"Whoever gave you that information was wrong and should not have done it, it is against the ethics of the denomination as we strictly uphold the standards of a holy marriage," he said.
The couple refused to comment on the matter.
Other church members note that this will not be the first wedding in the church to be suspended or dismissed, as is the norm when couples in courtship are found to be having sex before marriage.
"A pastor's wedding was suspended just two weeks before the wedding because the bride-to-be spent a night at his place after the vigil, they swore they never had sex, the lady was a virgin and was ready to prove it, but they were told to suspend it for three months, which they did," said Agnes Kazungu, an elder in the church.
