Mayor extols bride price at mass marriage ceremony

By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE in Kumba

Oldest & Youngest Couples  exchange vows at Kumba I Council mass wedding

After learning from legal minds that the payment or non-payment of the brideprice has no bearing on the validity of a statutory marriage, this fact was most forcibly brought to this reporter’s mind after taking part in a mass marriage ceremony organised jointly by the Kumba I council and the Meme Divisional Delegation of Women’s Affairs and the Family – MINPROFF.
    Over 50 couples tied the matrimonial knot on a rainy November Thursday at the Amusement Park in Kumba. The first order of the day was to ensure that all bridegrooms present had paid the brideprice to the families of their intended spouses. The mayor of the Kumba I council, Ebako Abel Ndoh, was explicit in his judgement that failure to pay the stipulated amount and materials required by the brides’ families will result in the concerned couple being sidelined from the day’s festivities. Luckily, all couples had complied although it remains dubious as to whether the mayor’s ruling falls in line with Cameroon’s family law given that it suggests that it is, perhaps, better never to be married legally rather than to desist from paying the customary brideprice.

    The D.O for Kumba I, Charles Fomubod D., in his advice to the newly-jooined couples, exhorted them to employ the principles of tolerance, dialogue and love to fight against domestic terrorism. Raising many eyebrows, he opined that the couples should love each other 100% but refrain from trusting each other 100% so as to avoid heartbreak. 
    Without exception, all the couples opted for monogamy and joint property. It was, however, a nervous moment when the presiding official asked if anyone would prefer polygamy. Due to the number of couples present, the oldest and youngest couples stood in the limelight while others copied their examples from the background. The oldest bridegroom, Pa Nkenya Peter John Mbu, probably in his sixties, made the occasion lively as he paid amorous attentions to his younger bride, Ms. Atta Paulina A. There were many occasions for joy and laughter. Two blind bridegrooms were part of the ceremony while some couples looked as though they had just been weaned from childhood of recent. The ceremony was animated by students of the Women’s Empowerment Centre who presented an Iroko dance number and some songs.
    According to the MINPROFF Divisional Delegate, Achanyi Taku Michael, this august mass marriage ceremony was organised towards the end of the year as a concession to certain couples who missed the annual May session. Mayor Ebako also remarked that his council undertook this social task in order to erode the “Come We Stay’ phenomenon which is gaining grounds in the Cameroonian society.