A wedding is one of the most memorable moments of every couple's life. Tying the knot symbolises the start of a new adventure in life.
However, for Citizen TV anchor, Jeff Koinange, all the fanfare associated with weddings had to be postponed because of a tragedy that shook the entire country. He narrated his story to then radio co-host Jalang'o on Hot 96 FM.
Koinange was supposed to tie the knot with his then-fiancee and current wife, Shaila Koinange, on Saturday, August 8, 1998. The couple had already planned for their honeymoon in South Africa.
However, on the eve of the wedding, terrorists bombed the US Embassy in Nairobi, one of the darkest moments in Kenya's history. This forced the celebrated journalist to cancel his wedding.
"The bombing forced us to cancel our wedding and put on hold. We had already made plans for our honeymoon," Jeff Narrated.
The anchor and his fiancee were forced to go for their honeymoon first before scheduling their wedding for another date in the same year.
"I am one of the few people who went on honeymoon before the wedding as it was cancelled. Tickets had been bought, hotels had been booked and all itinerary for the honeymoon was in place.
"We had always planned to go to South Africa. Cape Town was the ultimate goal. All our friends had told us SA was a beautiful place," Jeff narrated.
The two landed in Johannesburg and were to fly to Cape Town later in the day. However, Jeff Koinange decided to surprise the love of his life.
"We were staying with our friends and were to fly for two hours to Cape Town, but we decided to rent a car to enjoy our honeymoon. We travelled for 1400 kilometres and enjoyed the beautiful scenery," Jeff recalled.
The two enjoyed their stay and would tie their knot later that year.
Watch the video, courtesy of Hot 96.
