The Standard: It’s over. Sarika Patel and her ‘Bukusu Darling,’ Timothy Khamala have called it quits. The romantic fairy tale of a girl from a wealthy Indian family who got married to a Bukusu ‘hustler,’ caused a national storm when they got married against Sarika’s parents’ wishes.

When the story broke, the couple received overwhelming goodwill and were even offered jobs at a local sugar firm. But she now accuses Khamala of harassing, insulting and mistreating her, resulting in their ‘divorce.’

“When I fell sick, he did not bother to take me to hospital instead his parents took me to the local hospital. Besides, he has been abusing me physically,” said Sarika amid sobs. She is now full of regrets for defying her parents.

“I regret having defied my parents and got married against their wishes. I am so sorry. I hope they would accept me back home,” she said.

The fourth-born in a family of five has made up her mind to go back to her family and vowed never to engage in a relationship again. But she says her father, Chabbadia Patel, has given her conditions.

“My parents do not trust me anymore. They have asked me to stay with a family friend as I make up my mind whether I really want to reunite with them,” said Sarika Patel.

Sarika Patel fears her Asian community may find it hard to forgive and accept her back as she did not listen to them when she was ‘hotly’ in love with Khamala. “I wanted to be a role model to other Indians who are in relationships with other Kenyans. But it did not work. I have failed terribly,” she said.

Sarika Patel said her problems started when she fell sick. “It was not my fault that I fell sick. He did not take me to hospital. When things got worse, he told me to call my parents to take me to hospital,” she recalled.

Sarika’s brother came and “Khamala and his first wife handed me over to my brother. He told me to get married in future and that was the end of our marriage,” recalls a tearful Sarika Patel. She says her experience has made her vow to soldier on with life without engaging in any other relationship and advises youths to think twice before making life-changing decisions.

“I have learnt a serious lesson the hard way. I will focus on my life and pray that my parents trust me and accept me back. I want to travel overseas to visit my sisters and have a peace of mind,” she says.