This archive report was first published on 11 July 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Kenya, the government has imposed new rules on garden weddings to prevent large gatherings.
On Friday, the State Law Office announced that all garden wedding ceremonies should last a maximum of 45 minutes and have no more than 15 people in attendance.
According to Winnie Guchu, the CAS of the State Law Office, couples opting for garden weddings will be expected to conduct their ceremony within the 45-minute time frame.
Speaking during a press briefing on Friday, Guchu also announced the resumption of marriage services, with all applications to be done online.
The new rules come as the government continues to grapple with the spread of COVID-19 in the country. In April, authorities arrested 39 women and put them in a 14-day quarantine after they attended a crowded wedding party in Nairobi that ignored social distancing norms.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the number of couples seeking to officiate their conjugal bond has gone up, according to data from the registrar of marriages.
