Kakamega Catholic bishop Joseph Obanyi has asked the government to review the requirements of the Marriage Act to make it easier for couples to marry.
He said weddings are on the decline in the country because of too many restrictions imposed on couples intending to tie the knot.
“When you make it a requirement that those intending to marry must first go the Registrar of Marriages and the offices are not spread across the country, it amounts to frustrating marriages,” he said.
He said that old couples who want to make their union official give up due to the stiff requirements.
Obanyi spoke at St Peters Seminary during a special mass to mark Kakamega diocese family day on Sunday.
The Act requires that couples intending to marry visit the office of registrar, pay Sh600 and wait for clearance, upon which they have to pay Sh800 after three weeks before marriage arrangements can begin.
“What is all this? A better registrar does not exist in Kenya except the priest because they have been taught about marriage laws,” he said.
He said that churches must be allowed to have the final say since it is priests who preside over weddings and the government only issues certificates.
“The person who really conducts a marriage is not a registrar, it is the priest. The Sh1,400 paid to the registrar of marriages should be given to the priest because he is the one who conducts the marriages and even signs the certificates,” he said.
According to the law, a Christian marriage is conducted by a church minister in charge of a public place of worship.
If you engage in this kind of marriage, you cannot be polygamous since you are committed to one person.
For it to be legal, it must be unopposed. A marriage certificate is signed then taken to the government registrar within 14 days after the ceremony by the person who officiated it.
However, it can be void if a person appeals within 14 days after the ceremony to the registrar to nullify the marriage and the query is approved. The objection notice states the reason why the two parties involved should not be married.
