The government has moved the conducting of civil marriages from Sheria House to Nairobi Primary School Grounds.
Speaking on Wednesday, September 16, CAS State Law Winnie Chuchu stated that the move by the Registrar of Marriages is aimed at decongesting the Harambee avenue office along Harambee Avenue in adherence with the Covid-19 containment measures.
The ceremonies will be conducted at school grounds following gazettement by the national government, over the next three months.
"The cost of setting up here was very minimal as we got these grounds for free. We are planning to hold 20 weddings per day to ease the backlog with those allowed being the bride, groom, and two witnesses.
She added that the registration services were open to all religions noting that individual couples were allowed to conduct their ceremonies as per scheduled appointments.
The grounds are fitted with hand washing stations, changing rooms, four signage points and two photoshoot areas.
"Time allocated for each couple is 30 minutes; 10 minutes officiating, 10 minutes for photos and 10 minutes to leave the venue and it costs Ksh3,900 for the whole process," CAS Chuchu disclosed.
She observed that there was a growing number of couples registering for marriage since the government launched the online marriage services in July 2020.
“There will be no more manual services at the registrar of marriage at Sheria House as all services will be available online. We do not want any couple coming for services at Sheria House unless it is of utmost importance,” she stated.
With the registration process entirely online, couples are required to register their details on the portal, pay for the marriage fee, book for a pre-wedding interview and later get an appointment for the wedding to be officiated by the registrar.
However, couples are not allowed to pick their wedding date and in the event they miss their appointment, they will have to book new dates.
In August 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta raised the number of people allowed to attend weddings from 15 to 100 as he called for the adherence to the laid down Covid-19 protocols provided by the Ministry of Health.
