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After a high-profile engagement with her partner who she described as "a fine top brain", all was set for Senator Hezena Lemaletian until on Friday when she shared news that she had broken off the engagement and returned the dowry just six months after sharing the news of her engagement.
While announcing the halt of the marriage plans, the Senator clarified that despite the allegations swirling in certain quarters, she is not married to the man in question (or any other man for that matter).
Allegations that I was married are false and unfounded, and I shall also not be married to that person whatsoever. I deeply thank our elders.
READ: Senator Hezena: Deep Samburu roots and 2 questions she can't escape [Pulse Interview]
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The due procedure of the Samburu culture is that a background check must be conducted before the marriage. And so it was, and thoroughly.
Samburu culture & background check that saw wedding halted
Prior to any marriage, Samburu cultural traditions require that a thorough background check be conducted.
This elaborate exercise is led by elders and both sides of the family to establish the ancestry of the bride and the groom, traced down several generations.
The outcome of this exercise determines whether the wedding proceeds or not and if the former is the case, then the bride-to-be’s family returns dowry that may have been received from the groom, marking the end of the bath for the hopefuls.
Relationships whether by blood or marriage, family history, values and reputation are among the details unearthed in this detailed scrutiny prior to receiving the greenlight from the family elders.
The nominated Senator did not delve into what her family elders established in their meticulous background check.
READ: Senator Hezena Lemaletian's Biography: Education, model career, awards, KEWOSA role
Returning the cash gift & glamorous engagement
Hezena got engaged to her partner in a glamorous traditional event in October 2024 with her family receiving Sh100,000 from her fiancé.
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She previously described the marriage proposal as an ambush (siamu) according to Samburu tradition which guided the entire process.
Before taking the relationship to the next stage, a thorough background heck aligned with her community’s culture was needed.
Elders embarked on what the lawmaker described as a “thorough background check” and the outcome of the exercise appears to have established serious issues that saw the arrangement terminated in January.
Her family and elders declined to accept the Sh100,000 gift after their findings with the Senator sharing an update in a bid to silence what she described as “continuous malicious media attacks.”
The elders of my family therefore halted the whole process after the background check and refused to accept dowry from that person
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She further urged the public to accept her decision on the matter, noting that any slander will attract legal action.