What does the new Marriage Act 2014 mean for Kenyans?

The Marriage Act 2014 comes into force on November 1, 2014. What does this mean for Kenyans wanting to marry? Some say the honeymoon may be over before it starts (Sunday Magazine, The Standard, October 5, 2014).

What it means is that couples may need to be proactive in ensuring that their marriage is legal after November 1, especially during the transition period, and the height of the wedding season from November to January.

The couple might need to check whether the priest presiding over their marriage is authorised by law to conduct the wedding – even if they’ve known the priest since childhood.

The Attorney General in Kenya announced that all marriage certificate books are being recalled to make way for new licensing requirements for Ministers of Faith and Deputy County Commissioners to authorise over a marriage ceremony under the new Marriage Act 2014.

All unused marriage certificates issued under the repealed laws (the old Marriage Act, Cap 150, and the African Christian Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, Cap 151) will cease to have effect from November 1. The unused marriage certificates are required to be surrendered to the Registrar of Marriages in Nairobi.

And for previously licensed clergy to qualify to preside over weddings and be able to issue legal marriage certificates from November 1, 2014, they are required to file returns of all marriages they have officiated over to date and surrender copies of certificates issued in respect of those unions. Subsequently they must apply for new books of marriage certificates (recognized under the new Marriage Act 2014) once they are issued with their new licenses.

Clergy are also supposed to submit records documenting all scheduled weddings to be conducted before November 1, 2014, listing how many marriage certificates they intend to retain.

But some question whether a month is adequate notice to comply with the new government requirements – especially in rural and remote regions of Kenya. And some people question whether priests are aware of the new Act. In that case, newly weds after November 1 might not actually be wed under the new Marriage Act 2014. The repealed law states in Section 32 subsection (3) that “within 10 days of the last day of each month, every registrar shall send to the Registrar-General a certified copy of all entries made by him during the preceding month in the marriage register book of his district, and the Registrar-General shall file the same in his office.” If this has occurred, then all should be right, but if not, then there might be some confusion.

The new Act is being enforced because some priests and clergy were officiating at weddings without being authorised to do so.

So, if preparing a wedding after November 1, 2014, Kenyans should check that their presiding priest is authorised!