Jessica Hawayu

It was all laughter and joy at the table as Charo tiptoed towards the table, a move that was cut short when his girlfriend started choking on the food.

An engagement almost ended in tears after a Kenyan woman swallowed the proposal ring that was placed in her food as a surprise.

Accordung to The Nation Kenya, Ms Jessica Hawayu and her family had gathered on Sunday March 12, at her home in Gongoni, Tana River County, for a family party.

Unknown to her, the family and her boyfriend Johannah Charo had planned a surprise engagement party.

The day started well with family members preparing food and Jessica was tasked with preparing a special dish that is her father's favourite.

"Pilau is our father's favourite and also her boyfriend's. So she knew she was doing it for dad and dedicated herself to it," said her sister, Melanie Hawayu.

Meanwhile, the boyfriend and his friends were hanging around town waiting for the signal from his girlfriend's family once things were ready.

At about 2pm, they received a text asking them to start advancing toward the venue as the tables were set.

The plan between the woman’s mother and the boyfriend was to bury the engagement ring in a plate of pilau, where she would discover it.

"Dad had protested the idea but since there was no better idea, we decided to take a chance with the one we had and proceeded with it," narrated Melanie.

Jessica's mother was in charge of serving the food and kept sending her daughter on errands as she buried the ring in the plate.

Charo had already sneaked into the compound and was to appear from behind where the girlfriend was seated.

It was all laughter and joy at the table as Charo tiptoed towards the table, a move that was cut short when his girlfriend started choking on the food.

All efforts went into rescuing her as she left the table and ran towards her father who hit her on the back three times, only for her to vomit the ring.

"We did not anticipate that would happen, but dad feared it would. That was so close, it left mum crying," said Oscar Habil, Jessica's younger brother.

Jessica collapsed and was rushed to a nearby hospital for a check-up.

Nevertheless, she woke up to say ‘Yes’ with the engagement ring already on her finger as Charo insisted that he would marry her dead or alive.

"I have learned a very hard lesson, that is how we would have killed my wife. The devil is a liar," said Charo in a phone interview.

Jessica, on the other hand, notes that though things did not work as planned, she does not feel bad about what the family planned because they all wanted to make her day memorable.