Gachagua To Be Chief Negotiator In Historic Marriage Between Kenyan MPs
According to Wa Maina, Gachagua was his preferred pick for the lead of the team that will go to Betty Maina’s family for the negotiations.
Marvin Chege 
Two serving Members of Parliament (MP) who have been romantically involved with each other will write themselves in Kenyan Parliament history books ahead of their incoming marriage.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will lead a team of elders that will be negotiating in the marriage ceremony of Mathira MP Eric wa Mumbi and his lover, Murang’a woman representative Betty Maina.
The two lawmakers who have been living together are set to end the two-year courtship by formally walking down the aisle.
According to Wa Maina, Gachagua was his preferred pick for the lead of the team that will go to Betty Maina’s family for the negotiations.
Mathira MP, Eric Wa Mumbi, and Muranga Woman Representative, Betty Maina, after Wa Mumbi proposed to Betty on April 17, 2023. /BETTY MAINA
“Mathira (Constituency) has respectable men, the Deputy President will lead us when we go to Murang’a (Maina's home),” Wa Mumbi told Inooro TV on Monday, April 17.
Earlier in the day, Wa Mumbi surprised the Woman Rep by getting down on his one knee and popping the million-dollar question "Will you marry me?"
“And out of love, she said yes!” noted Wa Mumbi.
Watching the proposal unfold was Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, her Nakuru counterpart Susan Kihika, and Nominated Senator Veronica Maina.
“One day at a time sweet Jesus. He makes all things beautiful in his own time. Thanks my sisters for organising this wonderful surprise. My dear Eric, you rock!” Maina wrote after her proposal.
Wamumbi hinted at the marriage ceremony coming sooner than ever, even as she praised Maina, attributing her to his dream wife.
“This week, I will be in Murang'a for preliminary planning before the big day when I will descend on this land of my love in a manner that will make all envious,” he stated.
Maina’s dowry negotiators will include her family as well as Kiharu Member of Parliament, Ndindi Nyoro, who warned Wa Mumbi in March 2023 that they will not have it easy during the negotiations as letting go one of the daughters of Murang'a will be a tall order.
The dowry negotiations will follow Kikuyu customs and traditions which demand that parents and elders of the fiancé and fiancée meet prior to the official wedding. The man is supposed to give dowry in livestock such as goats or cash to the woman’s family.
The two met in 2021 and started dating during the 2022 campaign period. Maina was a director at the Athi Water Development Agency before he resigned to contest for the seat.
It is their second attempt at marriage having tied the knot before, and enter this union with two children each from their previous relationship. Eric had lost his first wife after her body was discovered in Hohwe Dam on May 25, 2020.
"My wife was the best thing that ever happened to me. She valued family more than anything else in the world. Her death has left a huge void in my life and that of our two sons," Eric wrote on his Facebook after the demise of his wife.
During a recent interview, Maina disclosed that she had been married before but had to leave the marriage, citing that she entered it at a young age, admitting that they were too impatient when they decided to split.
Kirinyaga Governor, Anne Waiguru, Murang'a Woman Representative, Betty Maina, Mathira MP, Eric Wa Mumbi, and Nakuru Governor, Susan Kihika after Wa Mumbi proposed to Maina on April 17, 2023. /BETTY MAINA
