Photos:Spectacle as blind grandfather of 16 weds a woman married seven times
The scripture “it is not good for a man to live alone” perhaps sums up the reasons why a 78-year-old blind man recently married a 60-year-old woman in Kilifi county.
Reuben Mwamtsonga and Furaha Gongolo from Mwembe Tayari village in Jibana, Kaloleni subcounty treated family and friends to a rare ceremony at Tsagwa Methodist church.
Mwamtsonga got blind and widowed in 1997 while Gongolo was neglected and verbally abused by each of her seven husbands for being barren.
The father of 10, grandfather of 16 and great grandfather of one said he thought of remarrying after his wife succumbed to pneuomonia.
He told KNA in an interview after the wedding that the misfortunes steered him into depression, but his two eldest daughters looked after their siblings.
“My daughters struggled to make ends meet. I contemplated remarrying but who would marry a blind man left with 10 children? I feared stigma and decided not to marry again”, he said.
Mwamtsonga said he was forced to seriously consider remarrying six years later, when his four eldest daughters eloped within five months.
It became more difficult to feed and educate the remaining six children who eventually dropped out of school. Fwaki said he could no longer rely on relatives.
“My children left home after dropping out of school to look for greener pastures in Mombasa and I was left all alone. I had to do all the house chores by myself. It was difficult and that is when I decided to marry again”, he said.
The decision was unwelcome to his family, especially the children, who said it was pointless to marry someone “also dying of old age”.
“I never gave up and being a born again Christian and a preacher, I kept on asking God to give me a woman whom I could spend the rest of my life with,” Mwamtsonga said.
Tables turned when his fourth born daughter, Flora, returned home in early 2014 with news that she had found him a wife.
“That was the best day of my life. I wanted to meet her immediately and get to know her. Her name, Furaha, which means joy, accelerated my feelings for her, she was my joy,” he said.
Gongolo said she was uncertain when Flora talked to her about getting married to her father. She said she was afraid that Mwamtsonga would leave her like the others did.
“I had given up. I had been humiliated for a long time but still, I decided to give it my last shot. Here I am today dressed in white. I never thought I would be married again, let alone have a church wedding,” she said.
“We are proud of grandfather. He has really challenged us. We wish him well in this new life”, said Mwamtsonga’s grandchild, Siani Ngao, who urged the youth not to rush into marriage.
– the-star.co.ke
WORTH THE WAIT: The couple, Reuben Mwamtsonga and Furaha Gongolo, hold their marriage certificate after their wedding at Tsagwa Methodist church in Kaloleni. Photo/KNA
WORTH THE WAIT: Reuben Mwamtsonga’s granddaughters, who were bridesmaids in his wedding to Furaha Gongolo, pose for a photo after the ceremony at Tsagwa Methodist church in Kaloleni. Photo/KNA
WORTH THE WAIT: The couple, Reuben Mwamtsonga and Furaha Gongolo, during their wedding at Tsagwa Methodist church in Kaloleni. Photo/KNA
WORTH THE WAIT: The couple, Reuben Mwamtsonga and Furaha Gongolo, pose for photos with family and friends after their wedding at Tsagwa Methodist church in Kaloleni. Photo/KNA
