The Bomet groom, who fell out with his bride-to-be leading to the wedding being cancelled hours before they could tie the knot, could become available in the marketplace for love soon.
But any woman who is lining up hoping to be struck by Cupid’s proverbial arrow may have to hang around for the next four months before Amos Rono, the man who has been catapulted to the limelight officially offers himself for the taking.
To cool off from the heat the lovers’ falling out has generated in the past week, Mr Rono is headed to Mombasa for a four-day all-expenses-paid holiday courtesy of Bonfire Adventures.
His would-be bride, Nelly Chepkoech Koskei has maintained a low profile since the bridegroom dropped the bombshell that the relationship had irretrievably sunk to the deepest depth of the dark sea.
Amos Rono whose wedding was cancelled in Bomet by his bride Nelly finally speaks.
The announcement came even as Ms Koskei refused to shoulder the blame for the wedding hiccup as bandied about on social media. She added that the church had informed both of them that they needed more time for counselling and therefore the ceremony had to be postponed.
On Tuesday evening, Mr Rono picked up his holiday ticket from the Bonfire Adventures offices in Nairobi and set off on a journey to Mombasa some 700 km from his home at Kapsoiyo village in Bomet County.
“I have met and talked with Amos. He has been affected a lot and I am happy he is coming to terms (with it). I would have wanted both of you here so I can take you for a honeymoon, but since you have explained yourself, it is okay,” Mr Simon Kabu, the Bonfire Adventures director said when he met the bridegroom.
Mr Rono said he will take time off to heal before searching for love again and soldier on in his efforts to start a family of his own.
“I am coming back to my senses and seeing something positive. In three to four months, I will be back in the market again to start searching for love,” Rono said in a brief statement while accepting the holiday ticket from the tour firm.
Happy days: Ms Nelly Chepkoech Koseki and Mr Amos Rono in this file photo. PHOTO| COURTESY
Mr Kabu in return asked ladies who might be interested in settling down with Mr Rono whose love journey and story was cut short when it was just about to unfold, to get in touch. But they will probably have to wait until the holiday is over.
“We are sponsoring you to Mombasa for four days alone. If you come back with someone else that is up to you… and remember the adage that it is easier to get into Mombasa than to leave. If there is someone out there searching for Mister Tall, Dark and Handsome, she can get in touch. We do not want to dwell on the past and want to forge ahead. No more blame-games for it is important to move on,” Mr Kabu said.
He added that he was looking for a counsellor to take the man through a healing process to come to terms with certain realities of life, so as to enable him to move on.
“The past few days have not been good, but there are better times ahead. We must learn to move on. As a society, let us support our youth so that the world can be a better place to live in,” Mr Kabu said.
The social media has been awash with claims, accusations and counter accusations, calls for the would-be bride and bridegrooms to make up and move on. Social media has also been identified as one of the factors that fuelled the fall out.
“I want to ask people on social media to be careful when posting and commenting on posts as it affects people. Things are not always the way they look or have been presented. Take time to pose and ask yourself whether it is true and if it has been verified,” Mr Kabu said.
The bridegroom and the bride shot into the limelight on Friday when it emerged that their wedding planned for Saturday, December 10, 2023, at Kapsoiyo African Gospel Church had been called off.
It is claimed that the wedding was called off following the advice of the clergy, who felt that the two lovebirds required further counselling before the ceremony could be held.
Unverified claims have also been made that one of the two called off the wedding hours before it could take off.
Mr Amos Rono, the bridegroom who has called it quits, in this photo taken on December 10, 2023 at his Kapsoiyo home in Bomet County. PHOTO | VITALIS KIMUTAI | NATION
As a result of the attendant pressure, the relationship between the would-be couple sunk to a level they could not reconcile with.
While Ms Koskei said she was waiting for another date to be picked by the church as advised, Mr Rono fired a terminal shot in the relationship saying it was all over.
“I have let her go. I wish her well in her future endeavours as I have nothing against her or her family. After a lot of soul searching and consultation, I have decided to remain single for now,” Mr Rono announced Sunday evening, while flanked by a few family members.
It emerged that the lovebirds had been courting for one year and planned the wedding in the past two months, having gone through the required motions and processes in the church.
“I have cried a tank full of tears before arriving at the decision to sever the relationship for good. It would not serve me well as a youth leader in the church. It is one of my lowest moments, but it is a bullet I must take,” Mr Rono told Nation.Africa
But he was quick to add “I wish to confirm for the record, that I was deeply in love with her (Chepkoech) and I trusted her. But I am also well aware that what is not meant to happen, would not happen.”
“By the time the announcement of the postponement of the wedding was made, we had bought wedding gowns and suits. I had paid for her (Chepkoech) hair and nails to be made at a salon in Bomet town and done so many other things in anticipation of the big day that never was,” Mr Rono said.
Things, however, have gone south for the couple who will now go separate ways.
The surprise announcement was in stark contrast with an announcement a few hours earlier by Ms Koskei that she had not called off the wedding and that she was looking forward to solemnizing the relationship and starting a family.
“We were advised by the church that we could push forward the date of the wedding as the validity of the marriage permit runs to February next year,” Ms Koskei said, adding that the claims being bandied around in social media about her status were not true.
Flanked by her father, the Rev Charles Koskei of African Gospel Church, Chebirbelek in Sotik, Bomet County, Ms Koskei said on Friday that she was not the cause of the postponement of the wedding.
“I am shocked by the claims that I have called off the wedding and taken off, yet I am at home with my parents and have been eagerly waiting for the wedding to take off,” Ms Koskei, who confirmed she is 23 years old, said.
Ms Koskei claimed that she had been summoned by the clergy along with the bridegroom and informed that the wedding would have to be postponed for technical reasons.
“When we were both told of the postponement of the wedding, we cried a lot for there was nothing we could do about it. I am ready for the [alternate] big day when it is picked,” Ms Koskei said, unaware of the bombshell her would-be suitor was preparing to drop a few hours later.
The communication was allegedly made on Thursday at the church’s offices in Tenwek, by the clergy, in the presence of relatives and friends who had been summoned to address the matter.
“The wedding would have proceeded on Saturday. But I was called by the area director of the African Gospel Church and informed that they needed to undergo further counselling as they had been in courtship for less than six months,” Rev Koskei, who confirmed that he attended the session, said.
“I have been paid five cows in the form of dowry and some money as is tradition. God willing, the wedding will be conducted in February or April next year,” Rev Koskei added.
The cleric was, however, confident that the hiccups relating to the planned wedding, which was called off, would be fixed and asked the public to ignore speculation circulating on social media regarding the shift in dates.
Amos consults with his brother Nelson Rono (centre) and their mother Sarah Nyige before the Nation interview on December 10, 2023. PHOTOS | VITALIS KIMUTAI | NATION
“Some people have claimed on social media that my daughter has run away from home, yet she is with us and we are all watching the unfolding scenario. It is unfair,” Rev Koskei said.
Earlier Pastor Clement Chalulot of Kapsoiyo African Gospel Church claimed that the families of the bride and bridegroom were holding discussions to pick a new date for the wedding.
“We were prepared for the wedding. We had put in place everything. But the announcement that it would be postponed came too late in the day. It was psychologically shattering, to say the least,” Sarah Nyige (Mr Rono’s mother), said.
