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Kenyan Who Offered 40 Goats and 20 Cows to Marry Chelsea Clinton Dies

Chelsea Clinton, Goat / AP, Wikimedia Commons

The Kenyan man who offered 40 goats and 20 cows to former President Bill Clinton for daughter Chelsea Clinton's hand in marriage died after being trampled by an elephant, according to the Star.

Godwin Chepkurgor, a freelance journalist, was taking photos of the elephants when one of them attacked him.

The dowry was offered to President Clinton in 2000.

Despite a visit to Kenya in 2009 by Hillary Clinton, Chepkurgor never received a response to his dowry offer. Hillary, however, promised to "convey this very kind offer" to Chelsea.

In 2000, Chepkurgor wrote to then-president Bill Clinton through Kenya's foreign minister, offering 40 goats and 20 cows for Chelsea Clinton's hand in marriage.

He said the offer was in accordance with the Kalenjin tradition. Chepkurgor said the letter prompted security checks on his friends and family.

He was even called for a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Nairobi, which he missed. He said his first wife knew about the renewal of his affections and did not object.

In 2009, Hillary Rodham Clinton promised to convey the "very kind offer" to her daughter. While on an official visit in Kenya, a reporter asked the then US Secretary of State if the Clintons had made a decision on the dowry offer.

After a pause, Clinton said, "My daughter is her own person, very independent, so I will convey this very kind offer."