CITIZENS COMPASS- After 20 years of courtship, Johana Maritim Butuk, a 99-year-old bachelor from Kenya, and Alice Jemeli, a 40-year-old woman, have finally gotten married.
Butuk was a bachelor for 99 years and never dated a woman. The Standard reports that this was his first marriage and it was at least the second relationship for the forty year old bride. Jemeli is content that Butuk has welcomed her three children from a previous relationship, though.
Butuk was 79 years old and Jemeli was 20 years old when they first met in 2003. Despite the age gap, their relationship grew stronger as they went on dates.
In December 2022, the elderly man proposed to Jemeli, and preparations for a wedding ceremony began.
On Saturday, January 14, 2023, the couple exchanged vows in a vibrant wedding ceremony in Soy, Uasin Gishu County.
At their mud-walled home in the Tuiyobei Soy B village, the couple celebrated their marriage. They had a few family members with them as they strolled around the unfenced homestead.
Locals who attended the ceremony at the neighboring St Mark’s Soy B Catholic Church reported it as being quite colorful. The pair exchanged marital vows there.
When The Standard showed up to their house, they discovered the couple talking about their aspirations to construct a lavish home for themselves despite their limited resources.
She claims that when they first met, Butuk was homeless and disheveled, and she takes joy in having changed his life. Butuk had a residence with one of his brothers, known only as arap Kenei, who passed away in 2010.
Jemeli claimed that after his brother passed away, her husband’s problems got worse and she was forced to move in. Later, they constructed the mud-walled home they currently inhabit.
Butuk, a man of few words, used to work as a herder. He frequently eschewed disputes and altercations that are usually connected to romantic relationships and wooing. He adored eating guava leaves, according to the locals, and never talked to women.
“I have a history of being tardy, but now I am content because I am married. I was circumcised in 1943, far later than my age peers. I am sure that the joy in my marriage will extend my life, adds Butuk. His wife Jemeli claims that she works as a house girl at a nearby residence and makes Sh3,000 per month.
Due to the generosity of neighbors and well-wishers who learned of their plans to go down the aisle, their colorful wedding was made possible.
“We are celebrating our colorful wedding at our modest home. Even our wedding ceremony was paid for by our church friends and neighbours,” she claims.
