A pastor and his fiancé had their wedding scuttled when the pastor’s first wife stormed the event and demanded the groom to acknowledge she (first wife) was the only bona fide partner.

The pastor, Imani Kalinga, who heads the Elgibbon Ministry Church in Mbeya, Tanzania, was tying the knot to Bupe Kajigili at a church in Dar es Salaam, when Elizabeth Jeremiah stormed the House of God and scuttled the ceremony.

It is alleged Mr Kalinga left Ms Jeremiah in Mbeya, where they live, and went to a church in Dar es Salaam to secretly exchange vows with Ms Kajigili.

Informal arrangement

Ms Jeremiah said she and her husband were in court processing their separation, and that by the time he was marrying Ms Kajigili, he hadn’t formally left her (Ms Jeremiah).

The ruling was set for March 5, said Ms Jeremiah.

Tanzanian media say Ms Jeremiah’s friends, who were also close to Mr Kalinga, informed her about her husband’s secret wedding on the date he was marrying Ms Kajigili.

Stormed venue

The shocked Ms Jeremiah immediately embarked on a Dar es Salaam journey, and was fortunate to find the wedding still going on. She was accompanied to the Dar es Salaam church by her friends.

Mr Kalinga, at the time, was on the pulpit with Ms Kajigili, as the congregants sang and congratulated them on their Big Day.

Ms Jeremiah, upon setting foot in church, went straight to the pulpit and removed from her purse a court document, which showed she was still married to Mr Kalinga.