A family law expert at the Islamic University In Uganda (IUIU), Dr. Diana Musoke has warned that the Marriage Bill, 2024 has potential to destroy the institution of marriage if enacted into law.
Dr. Musoke said the proposals in the Bill seek to discourage the country’s long held perception on the purpose for which marriages exist.
She questioned why the Bill is subtle about grounds for divorce providing only for when it is irretrievable, saying the new law should clearly enlist the possible grounds for divorce.
“The law has completely done away with the grounds for divorce and instead provides for no-fault divorce. Are you not watering down the institution of marriage to say it should be dissolved as long as there is consent from both parties at free will? What will happen when one refuses to consent, aren’t we escalating domestic violence?” asked Musoke.
Musoke submitted her views on the Marriage Bill, 2024 during the joint meeting of the Committee on Gender, Labor and Social Development and the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on Wednesday, 19 February 2025.
The law don said her 25 years’ experience in teaching family law has proved that the current generation lacks resilience to sustain marriages and asked that the new law should not make it easy to divorce.
“People who are divorcing are those who entered marriage in 2021. The generation we are dealing with is not that resilient, that is why the divorce rate is so high. We should not make it easier for them,” Musoke noted.
Musoke was concerned that the Bill wants to cater for the high number of cohabiting partners by allowing Christian polygamy, which she said abolishes Christian marriage envisaged by the church.
“Is this not a violation of the right to religion especially to those religions that preach one woman one man? This is a way of trying to do away with cohabitation such that a man married in church can convert his monogamous marriage to marry as many as he desires but still remain a church faithful,” Musoke said.
She cautioned against provisions that are likely to clash with existing laws on marriage, such as conducting a marriage online which she said contravenes with the requirement of consummation to render a marriage legal.
The new law is seeking to have Ugandans living in diaspora conduct marriages at Ugandan embassies in their jurisdiction, which Musoke said falls short of some of the requirement such as notice of objection.
She wondered how the registrar of marriage at foreign missions will be able to obtain notices of objection to marriage, from the couple’s families and friends in Uganda.
MPs reiterated that the proposal to prescribe grounds for divorce is still contestable with some saying the law will be limiting the discretion of courts.
“The whole concern is that can all the grounds for divorce be exhausted? What happens if a reason for divorce arises but is not listed among the grounds? Will we not be tying people in marriages?” asked Hon. Asuman Basalirwa (JEEMA, Bugiri Municipality).
Basalirwa noted that there is a growing concern among stakeholders on why a Bill on marriage includes distribution of properties.
“They are saying each time you introduce property in the marriage bill you create an impression that the motivation of marriage is property, that it may be entered targeting those with property,” Basalirwa said.
Nakaseke Central County MP, Hon. Allan Mayanja, observed that the provision for polyandry where a woman is married to more than one man is also likely to weaken marriages, cognisant of the likely resistance on its implementation.
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