Pastor Dorcas, a spouse of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, on Saturday, June 10, announced that her husband's first days as district officer were challenging to her marriage.
During a counseling session for police officers registered for the upcoming mass wedding in Kabete, Pastor Dorcas noted that challenges began after Gachagua was employed as a district officer representing Gichugu.
She noted that the appointment came immediately after their campus life, at a time she was 6 months pregnant.
The second lady hinted that in the months that followed, Gachagua was constantly transferred from district to district keeping him away from her.
“But I thank God he (Gachagua) would find time to come home. In the evenings, he would drive from Nairobi and come home in Nyeri arriving at midnight. Before he sits down, the DC would call him to go back. So, by morning he is not with me, I am left all alone,” she recounted.
She explained that Gachagua was first posted in Gichugu, Kirinyaga County, then moved to Nairobi before his transfer to Navaholo, Vihiga County.
Dorcas, however, maintained that their marriage withstood the challenges.
Military Mass Wedding
Drawing from her own experience, Pastor Dorcas challenged the officers to prioritise God in their marriages noting that the plan for the officers' mass wedding was awaiting confirmation of the event's date.
She explained that solemnisation of the marriages for the members of disciplined service men and women will protect women and children from the agonies they go through when claiming for benefits of their kin who die in the line of duty.
“We must bring to an end the anguish wives and children go through while trying to access their benefits in times of the unfortunate death of the officers.
“Marriage does not work because of the certificate. The reason that the certificate is very important is to secure your family, your wife, your children and their future,” she narrated.
On the other hand, the chairperson of the National Police Wives Welfare Association (NAPOWA) Beryl Ochieng noted that women suffer most when their husbands die in the line of duty.
During the session the officers were also taken through marriage registration by the Deputy Register of marriages Victor Okutoyi who emphasized on the need for the officers to have all the required documents.
