Kenyan govt halts marriage services after being overwhelmed by couples getting married

Kenyan government has temporarily halted marriage services days after reopening the services as Kenyans flocked Sheria House seeking to tie the knot.

The department of Registrar General in the Ministry of Attorney-General and Department Services on Tuesday issued a notice saying that they had been overwhelmed after the number of clients who visited Sheria House seeking the same services.

The department further said the sheer numbers of people who visited Sheria House had gone against the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health on curbing the spread of Covid-19.

“As a result, the Office has temporary halted all marriage services in order to develop a clear roadmap on reopening in an organized manner as guided by the Ministry of Health and to further ensure that safety measures are undertaken in the workplace,” Registrar General Mary Njuya said in the notice.

But the department assured all clients that they are working tirelessly to ensure that provision of these services resume as soon as is practically possible and that they will issue a communication upon resumptions of services.

A civil wedding is among the three legal ways to legitimising marriage in Kenya, the  others being religious marriage and the traditional customary union.