A 63-year-old man in Majengo area of Tana River County, mouths of residents wide open, after he asked for seven shillings only as bride price for her daughter.
Mr Hussein Maro, father to the bride, left his guests who had come for dowry negotiations confused after he decided to make the talks brief.
” My fellow elders, it is great joy to have KOyour daughter married to a good family. Therefore as my daughter and I had already agreed, we shall take seven shillings,” he said
The elders representing the groom then sought clarification, wondering if, perhaps, Mr Mark meant Ksh. 700,000 , Ksh. 70,000 or Ksh. 7,000, but the father of the bride’s father confirmed that he meant seven coins worth a shilling each.
His fellow elders later called him to the side for him to explain his decision. According to his mates the explanation was not convincing but he then went ahead to give the marriage ceremony his blessings.
The groom’s elders we forced to send the groom’s brother with a note to go and get the seven coins. He says that he only got four of them from shopping centres due to the scarcity of one-coin shillings.
The young man had to beg for the other three shillings from nearby homes.
“Many people thought I was crazy asking for one shilling coins. They thought I was practising some sort of with craft so they told me off,” he said.
Locals say that this is not the first time Mr Maro is asking for simple things as bride price. He married off his firstborn daughter to a man from whom he only asked for prayer beads, which he now walks with everywhere.