That African 100m record holder, Ferdinand Omanyala and his wife, Laventa Amutavi, have a solid and happy marriage has never been in question. However, what many people may not know is how the couple first met.
It all started in a kibandaski (Kenyan slang for a nondescript roadside eatery). At the time, she was a student at Moi University pursuing a degree in social work, while Omanyala was at Nairobi University.
Laventa had earlier heard there was a promising new kid on the block – that ‘kid’ was none other than Omanyala. While having their lunch, Omanyala took an interest in Laventa and with his characteristic confidence asked for her number.
Initially Amutavi declined and instead asked Omanyala for his, promising to call him, which she never did. But as fate would have it, the two would later bump into each other months later during a university game.
Yet again, Omanyala asked for the number.
“When he requested my number for the second time, I decided to text him out of guilt,” Amutavi recalls.
According to Omanyala, it took him half a year to charm his way into Amutavi’s heart.
Amutavi later revealed that she took her time to accept Omanyala since at the time she was convinced he had other women in his life.
“I was not sure why he did not have a girlfriend and I also wanted to know how persistent the guy is. I was like why does he not have a girl at the UON? I had to take my time,” she said.
Everything eventually fell into place, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In a past radio interview, Amutavi explained that since her hubby became famous she has had to learn handling social media pressure.
Most of the time, Omanyala has attributed his success on the track to hard work and having a supportive partner by his side.
“I am positive about fame because at the end of the day it is something we always imagined. It was a dream that we never thought would come to reality. It is very humbling and you get to understand that this is how it feels when people could appreciate what Kenyans are doing,” the mother of one said.
