WAONA AJE - Mashada Photos!

Operations at a Nairobi hotel came to a standstill recently when little known celebrity lovebirds, Mercy Myra and Redsan, got married. The couple has been keeping their relationship secret, and were trying to have a low-key wedding – until Pulse caught them in the act, literally.

At first, Redsan and Mercy, who had booked the prestigious Ashanti Suite at The Panafric to conduct the quickie ceremony, tried to keep the press and the general public from finding out by keeping the door to the suite firmly locked. However, our photographer, who happened to be on another assignment, spotted them and took the opportunity to snap a few pictures.

When Pulse finally cornered them on the hotel premises, they refused to divulge the details of their relationship at first, saying the press was ‘taking things out of proportion’.

"We were doing a friend who owns a wedding shop a favour," Mercy insisted, saying the photos that were taken were for the shop’s catalogue. However, it was Mercy’s ex-boyfriend, Attitude, who eventually broke down and filled us in on the whole story.

"Mercy and I broke up about six months ago," he confirmed in an exclusive interview. "We just didn’t want the public speculating about us and asking all sorts of questions – after all, they still expect us to get married some time this year. So we decided to keep the break up a secret until we were both ready to deal with the public scrutiny. We have since realised that this is not possible, because although we tried to keep these new developments to ourselves, you have found out, and now you’re going to tell the world."

He went on to reveal that he and Mercy broke up amicably because of career commitments.

"Mercy wants to stay here and work on her new album with Samawati. She’ll be required to do a lot of promos for it. I want to go back to America. There’s no way our relationship would have survived that long distance." It was around the time that they broke up that Mercy met Redsan at a friend’s house party, and fell in love. Mercy, who eventually agreed to speak, said: "Obviously, we had met before, but that night, the conversation was quite vibrant. I knew this was the man I wanted to marry."

She went on to explain that she did not do anything behind Attitude’s back. "Attitude and I broke up, and then I met Redsan," she explains. "Attitude knew that I wanted to be with Redsan, and he gave us his blessing. That’s why he’s our best man today."

How did they manage to keep the relationship secret for so long? "It was difficult," Mercy laughs. "We would see each other in ‘professional’ settings. Redsan would come to the studio where I was recording, or I would go to his. You also have to remember that because we are both musicians, it was easy us to go for concerts and look like we were there in our professional capacity, while the fact was, we were on a date."

The only clue diners at the hotel had that something special was happening at lunchtime on Tuesday, was the big, black limo that pulled up outside the main door. When the car doors opened, Mercy, in full wedding finery, and her new boo were whisked out of the dark interior, straight to the suite. We wondered why Mercy felt obliged to wear the full white dress for such a small occasion.

"I believe a wedding day is a girl’s biggest day," she said. "I have always wanted to wear a nice, conservative white dress, and I decided that even if the only people in the room were me, Attitude and my husband, I would still do my best to feel like a queen, by wearing the dress I had always wanted to wear."

Redsan remained tight-lipped all through the interview. When we asked him about the fate of his relationship with long-time girlfriend Delilah Wahito, all he said was: "That’s none of your business." Efforts to get in touch with her were futile, as she was said to be out of the country pursuing further studies. It is not clear whether she was aware of the situation, or how she will react once she hears news of this surprise wedding. For now, though, Kenya’s first celebrity husband and wife team are all set to enjoy their honeymoon. The location may be the US, where Redsan will be headed to finish production on his third album, which is set to drop in May. Attitude says he does not regret spending a single moment with Mercy. He says he will continue with his plans to go back to America where he is all set to release his debut album.