Pastor Jared Omwoyo, who chased bridesmaids out from a wedding in Tente Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church in Nyamira county on Friday, December 30, 2022, has now spoken out about the entire story.
Mr Omwoyo, who lives in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, said he had no choice but to chase the bridal party away due to their “indecent clothes and terrible character,” and that he had been misled about their faith.
He chastised the individual who took the video of him asking them to leave, claiming that it could have captured how the squad was dressed as well.
“Again I did not chase them away from the church, I only stopped them from participating in marching in the wedding,” he said.
He said that the couple that wedded on that day, had lived together and had kids but they had made a decision to officiate their marriage.
According to the man of God, he was ordained as a pastor in April 1995 and he has officiated a number of weddings but has never sent people away.
The pastor said that the wedding was supposed to kick off at 11 am but by 3 pm nothing had started since the bridesmaids were disturbing the matron tasked with officiating the wedding.
Mr. Omwoyo said that the matron who was overwhelmed opted to alert him on what was going on.
“The matron asked me to intervene as she said that she was having a hard time with the bridesmaids and that things were not okay. She said that it would take them too long to finish the ceremony,” said the pastor.
He said that it is then that he made a decision to follow up on the matter and asked to have a short meeting with the bridesmaids and the groomsmen.
“Some of the men had a rasta hairstyle, the ladies were not well dressed and they had applied lipstick, makeup, and had their earrings,” he said.
Mr Omwoyo said that when he tried to question the team on why they were going contrary to the principles of the church, they started answering him in a rebellious manner.
The stern SDA pastor was not amused when he unearthed the deception advanced by the bridal party.
Mr Omwoyo said that he had been given false information that out of the six bridesmaids lined up to escort the bride down the aisle, only two were not members of the SDA church.
When he realised that he had been lied to, he said that he had no option but to stand his ground and stick to what the church rules dictate.
Asked if he has spoken to the newlyweds after the viral incident, he said he hasn’t had a word with them but promised to look for the couple and speak about what transpired on that day.
The incident has hit news headlines across the country with some members of the public supporting what the Pastor did while others have condemned his actions.
Already, the family of the bride whose wedding ceremony was thrown into disarray faulted the pastor saying he dampened the mood of the celebratory moment.
