President William Ruto's press secretary, Emmanuel Talam, brought laughter to mourners on Wednesday when he revealed that he once thought the late Rita Tinina would be his wife.
Addressing her funeral, Talam, just before delivering the President's speech, disclosed that this thought occurred when they both started college at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication.
"I wish Eric Latif was here because I have to make some confession before we bury Rita, and my good friend and brother Robert, take no offense. When Rita came to KIMC, we joined at the same time, same day, same class, I thought she was going to be my wife," he said.
He continued, mentioning that despite his attempts to win her affection, Tinina advised him to slow down.
Talam recalled. "She was so beautiful, she was brown, and she was Maasai, so I thought I had found a wife, but one day she noticed I was pushing too hard, she told me, 'young man, slow down, you will find another wife, let's focus on studying first.'"
Talam admitted to going as far as dedicating a special song to Tinina on the now-defunct Metro Radio.
"I remember we had a very special program on Metro Radio called Love Zone, hosted by Eric Latif. I have come to confess that I am the anonymous guy who sent Rita a special song," he said, evoking laughter from the mourners.
Talam revealed the song was "From a Distance."
"A song that I have found out today makes a lot of sense and is very symbolic. From a distance. From a distance, Rita has gone to rest, she has gone to be with the Lord, and we thank God for her," he concluded.
Talam was accompanied by Dennis Itumbi, who also works for the president.
Bensoul's evolution since going solo