Kenyan woman in Iowa Weds her US Bride inSame-Sex Union
Terry Ngendo Wakonyo,24, and her bride Courtney Nicole, 25 during their wedding reception in Iowa
By ANTONY KARANJA in Dallas, Texas,
Posted Wednesday, April 20 2011 at 20:06
A Kenyan woman has married her American bride in Des Moines, Iowa.
Terry Wakonyo Ng’endo, 24, and Courtney Nicole, 25, wedded in a same-sex civil union at the Polk County Courthouse last Friday.
The newly weds held a reception on Saturday in Shawnee, Kansas where they were joined by family and friends who included scores of Kenyans.
Speaking to jambonewspot.com, the groom who is from Nairobi proudly said “we are married” when asked whether they were in a civil union.
The couple who are both residents of Kansas had to travel to the neighboring state as Kansas does not recognize same-sex marriages.
Same sex marriages in Iowa became legal on April 3, 2009. More than 80% of same-sex marriages inn the state are from couples coming in from neighboring states.
Ngendo has lived an openly gay life in Kansas. Ngendo’s friends in Kansas described her as a good friend to most Kenyans and someone who was proud of whom she was.
“Ngendo has lived among us and has been a very good friend and I think I speak on behalf of many Kenyans who know her in Kansas,” one lady who did not want to be identified said. “They are very nice people and if this is what they have chosen, we should respect them.”
The bride has since changed her name to Courtney Ngendo. She has two sons age 5 and 4.
“I was married before and hence my two sons but I was not comfortable in the relationship as I knew I was interested in girls.” Courtney said. “I was never able to come out in the open but the moment I met Ngendo, I knew that this was my time to come out.
Opened up
Terry Ngendo and Courtney Nicole's engagement photo-Courtesy Courtney Nicole-Ngendo
The couple has been dating for the last two years and was finally engaged in February.
According to a Kenyan lady who attended the wedding reception, song and dance filled the room. A popular song “Muthuri ta uyu…mwamwonire kuu?” (Where have you seen a husband like this?) underscored the theme of the wedding.
“We are having a blast,” Courtney said.
Courtney also added that some gay Kenyans have been able to confide in Ngendo. “Some gay Kenyans have opened up to Ngendo and confided in her the fact that they are afraid of being openly gay for fear of hostility from fellow Kenyans.” She said.
On Monday, two Kenyans in California and one in Reno, Nevada who said they were gay sent separate messages to jambonewspot.com and pointed to Ngendo and Courtney’s wedding summarily noting that Kansas was a conservative state and yet Kenyans did not “raise hell”.
“I heard of this female couple that got married last weekend in Kansas (it was actually in Iowa) but it seems like you guys (US Kenyan blogs) do not want to touch it. From what I have heard, there was very little hostility towards the Kenyan lady. Maybe Kenyans are finally coming of age considering this is in Kansas which is a Midwestern state,” read one email from a reader calling himself/herself “Proud to be gay from CA” from Palo Alto, California.
However not all Kenyans were celebrating with the couple.
“This is a bit too much,” said Wanjira from Kansas City, Missouri. “However tolerant I want to be, this is a bit too much for my taste buds.”
n 2009, many Kenyans websites in the US carried the story of a Kenyan man who wedded another man in London.
A survey conducted in 2010, showed that 44% of Iowa residents supported same sex marriages making it the only state that allowed sex marriages to record less that 50% support.
A recent CNN/Opinion research poll showed that 51% of Americans favor legal recognition of same sex marriages mirroring another recent poll by ABC/Washington Post.
In the 2010 midterm elections, the three Iowa Supreme Court Justices who were involved in the ruling legalizing same-sex marriages in the state were removed from office after judicial retention elections.
Legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate late last week seeking to give binational same-sex couples the same rights as married couples for immigration purposes.
The Uniting American Families Act was reintroduced Thursday, April 14, seeking to allow LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) American citizens the ability to sponsor their “permanent partners” or spouses for legal residency in the United States.
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