Germans wed in Giriama fete

A German couple got married in a colourful traditional Giriama wedding in Kilifi town.

Mr Frank Loffler and Mrs Susana Loffler from Erfurt, Germany came to the country on October 15 just to get married at Mwangirani Giriama cultural centre.

The love birds had inquired about the issuance of a marriage certificate in the traditional wedding when they learnt that they could only acquire one through a civil marriage. This made them travel to Mombasa for a civil marriage first.

“We thought there was a certificate given after a Giriama girl is married off to his spouse but we were told it is done locally, we had to go to Mombasa to get a government certificate in a civil marriage before conducting this one,” they said.

Mr Loffler who was named Charo Kazungu and his wife Kadzo Kitsao, termed the Giriama people as very polite and humble.

Mrs Loffler said that they wanted to experience a different culture and make new friends far from home. She added that they really enjoyed their ceremony.

“We read about the African culture on the Internet and Mr Said Kazungu, who works at a certain villa, introduced and directed us on how to reach here,” she said.

On the eve of the Sunday wedding, the groom spent the night with the community at the cultural centre till dawn when he was joined by his bride, who was accompanied by area residents.

There was a lot of entertainment in the wedding organised by Mr Kazungu where most of the traditional dance troops performed after the couple opened the floor with a traditional German dance.

Mr Andrew Tuva, the director of the cultural centre, said he started the cultural centre because culture is a very important aspect that contributes to tourism.

Mr Loffler is an electronics technician, while his wife works with an advertising company.