Simmering ‘beef’ between hotel and MP in room fiasco over marriage certificate

An empty room. A married couple. And a marriage certificate. Those were the three ingredients that helped cook Kericho’s Sunshine Upperhill Hotel’s PR goose in an unprecedented scandal that captivated the country last week.

Well, the last ingredient was missing, but that did not stop Kenyans from partaking of the scandalous broth with relish for a whole week. It was rather the point, actually.

The gist of the story is this; a legislator and her husband were denied a room at the hotel because they did not produce a marriage certificate, precipitating a public relations nightmare of momentous proportions for the strait-laced establishment. The issue even became a topic of discussion in Parliament.

BANNED ALCOHOL

For nearly 20 years now, Kericho' s most prestigious hotel, whose regulations are based on strict Christian values, has not allowed unmarried couples to share a room. It has also banned alcohol of any kind on its premises.
It’s prudish outlook and Victorian moral code has served the establishment well so far—well, till the fiery Laikipia Women Representative, Ms Catherine Waruguru, and her husband, Mr William Kiget, came visiting on July 14.

The couple reportedly reserved room 402 at around 4pm and left for the man’s rural home, but drama ensued when they returned around 9:30pm.

The management requested for proof of marriage before they could allow them into their room. All hell broke loose.

Not even the intervention of leaders from the region, including Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter, and three MPs, Nelson Koech (Belgut), Sylvanus Maritim (Ainamoi) and Florence Bore (Women Representative) who called the management, could induce the hotel to bend its own rules and hand the couple their room keys. They stuck rigidly to their guns.

RESERVATION REVOKED

The couple’s reservation was duly revoked and they left for another facility, having been refunded their money, nearly two hours later.

"I feel I have been embarrassed as a leader. I have sought reasons and justifications from the management to no avail," said Ms Waruguru. The legislator later raised the matter in Parliament, receiving backing from a section of her colleagues. The couple has further vowed to sue the hotel for discrimination.

However, the management is justifying its decision on grounds that they reserve the right of admission and that their tradition of not admitting unmarried couples has always been made known, The hotel manager, Mr Frank Kirui, told Nation that, just like members-only clubs have their rules, the establishment too has its own, which are clearly spelt out at the reception area for all to see.

"The hotel made it clear to whoever booked the room that a marriage certificate would be required for the couple to access the room," said Mr Kirui.

When Nation interviewed the hotel proprietor, Mr James Mwangi in 2014 on how he oversaw steady growth of his business from a mere food kiosk to a big establishment, he attributed it to discipline and fear of God. He admitted to have disappointed many when they launched nice rooms but prohibited alcohol and casual dates there.

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
“Every couple has to produce a marriage certificate to book a common room and there are no two ways about it,” Mr Mwangi, a class one drop out, told Nation then.

At no point is a random couple allowed to share a room at the hotel, which is said to have a watchman at the corridors. And if they must share, they would have to secretly organise to book two rooms, one of which would be unoccupied. The flip-side, though, is the hefty cost involved; a single room sets you back by at least Sh4, 500. Last week’s drama drew people’s attention to the hotel’s regulations and elicited mixed reactions, being that most marriages in Kenya are traditional and do not have the legal document.

Also, even those that do have them rarely walk around with the certificate anyway.

There is also the likelihood that the rules discriminate against second or third wives who are not legally recognised as wives hence are denied marriage certificates. This is the case with Ms Waruguru’s marriage.

TRADITIONAL WAY
A video is currently in circulation in which the MP complains about the matter while addressing a crowd. In it, she says that some, like her, have been "tied" the traditional way.

"Should we be carrying Segutyet (traditional Kalenjin grass symbolising marriage) as proof that we are married?" She poses amid laughter.

The MP recently publicly said that it was her choice to be second wife and happily so. However, those who support the hotel say that clients have many options of hotels to choose from and are not compelled to check into Sunshine.

They wonder why the hotel is being bashed yet the regulations are clearly inscribed on the notice board at the reception.

A section of leaders, including MP Koech and Kericho County Assembly Speaker Dominic Rono, condemned last week's incident, saying the hotel regulations went contrary to the Constitution.

“I called the manager but he flatly refused to help. The nonsense of marriage certificates is discriminatory, backward and totally unacceptable," said Mr Koech.

Mr Rono said: “Production of marriage certificate or one’s marital status is not one of the grounds set out in Article 24. In fact, Article 27 prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other grounds, marital status.”