By Wanja Waweru
A man in Magarjali village, Tana River County, has eloped with his father’s new bride, saying she was too young for him.
According to reports, Saada Mohammed, 18, and Ahmed Golo, 24, who was to wed Ishmael Golo, 71, after a Ramadan wedding ceremony, escaped together.
Hassan Wario, a member of Mr. Golo’s family, claimed that the elderly man had already arranged and paid for the young woman’s wedding but was unable to wed her due to the fasting period.
“He agreed with the girl’s parents that the rest of the ceremony would take place after Ramadhan, the first week after Eid,” he said.
However, Mr. Golo’s children objected to the union, claiming that the girl was much younger than their last child, and they begged their father to change his mind.
Mr. Wario observed that attempts to appease Mr. Golo’s children and persuade them to accept his choice of wife had failed, which had caused a family argument.
“We tried to persuade them, but they refused. Even their mothers tried to calm them down, but they wouldn’t listen, especially the daughters,” he said.
Ahmed, the firstborn of the second wife, resolved to find the bride-to-be and they fled together after arduous attempts to reason with the kids.
Ahmed and Saada escaped on Tuesday as everyone was rushing to the mosque for prayers. They left the elderly man a note asking him to locate his mate and give the teens to his sons.
“We only realised she was missing around 10am because we could not find her, all we found was a note written in our language, but the handwriting was not hers,” said Saada’s sister Asha Fadhe.
On Wednesday, Ahmed called home and spoke to his mother, telling her that he would not allow his father to dishonour them.
According to the mother, Ahmed said the days of old men marrying their grandchildren were over and urged his father to find a mature woman to marry.
“He says he will marry the girl and have children with her before he returns home. I tried to tell her it is not right, but he says the girl has agreed and is happier that he saved her,” she said.
Relatives from Ms Saada’s home also note that she made a communication stating that she was safe.
The family say that she confessed her dissatisfaction with marrying Mr Golo, noting that he was too old for her and that she would be better off married to someone younger.
However, Mr Golo has accused the first and third wives of inciting the children against his marriage, noting that they are the architects of his woes.
He has since asked the girl’s family to return the dowry and to negotiate with his son.
