An Italian-born former Catholic priest, Sandro Ferretto, has begun a new chapter after leaving the priesthood and marrying his Kenyan partner, Sharon Jepng’ok, in a traditional ceremony in Baringo County, Kenya.
Ferretto, 55, married Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, on Sunday, September 6, 2026, at Seretion Village in Kasiela, an area where he previously served as a Catholic parish priest.
The couple formalised their union through a Koito ceremony, a traditional marriage rite practised among Kalenjin communities. The ceremony typically involves family participation, dowry negotiations and blessings from relatives and elders.
Family members, community elders, local leaders and Jepng’ok’s colleagues reportedly attended the ceremony, which marked Ferretto’s transition from clerical life to marriage and family life.
Ferretto was ordained a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Padua in Italy before travelling to Kenya in 2008 to begin missionary work. He later served Catholic communities in Kasiela and Mochongoi under the Diocese of Nyahururu, spending about 12 years working in Baringo County.
Reports indicate that Ferretto met Jepng’ok during his missionary service in the region. Their relationship later developed, eventually leading him to leave active priestly ministry and pursue a life centred on marriage and family.
Ferretto had also returned to Italy after his missionary work in Kenya and later served in a pastoral role in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, where he oversaw several churches. He subsequently stepped away from that role before returning to Kenya.
His traditional wedding has attracted attention because of his previous role as a Catholic priest and his long-standing connection with the Baringo community.
The ceremony also highlighted the blending of Ferretto’s Italian background with Jepng’ok’s Tugen and wider Kalenjin cultural traditions as the couple celebrated their union surrounded by family and members of the community.
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