President Museveni’s views on bride price have sparked a critical reflection about the place of an age-old tradition in modern times.
Speaking at a recent Okuhingira (give away) ceremony of Kisha Isabel Byanjeru Kaboyo, daughter of State minister for Luweero Triangle and Rwenzori Sub-region, Alice Kaboyo, at Kakyeera in Kiruhura District, Mr Museveni urged communities to revert to traditional values.
He emphasised that exorbitant demands are discouraging young people from marrying.
‘You, the Banyankole, are damaging the population with this thing of paying bride price,’ Mr Museveni said.
‘Why ask for 16 cows and millions of shillings? Why are you selling your children?’ Uganda’s President since 1986 added that such practices have forced young couples to live off debts, fearing the financial burden of marriage.
The head of State’s stance is rooted in his belief in social-economic transformation. He encouraged families to focus on cultural values rather than commercialising marriage. President Museveni’s message appears to resonate with many Ugandans who are financially handicapped by the steep financial demands of a traditional marriage.
‘The underlying challenge in this area around marriage is poverty. Families now look at their girls as a source of money, and they will do everything possible to extract it from whoever wants to get married to them,’ Mr Martin Okumu, the deputy premier of the Acholi chiefdom, said in an interview with Monitor.
Eight years ago, the Acholi chiefdom issued a position document on bride price in which it set the maximum price at Shs5 million, an equivalent of 10 cows.
‘We came up with a marriage principle, in our guidebook. We say a cow should be equivalent to Shs500,000, but nobody cares about it. Instead, there are exorbitant practices that are being applied by families whose girls are being married, which amounts to extortion,’ the deputy premier of the Acholi chiefdom disclosed.
Rwot David Onen Acana II, the Acholi paramount Chief, revealed that the decision by the institution to introduce a uniform rate followed numerous complaints by young men who ‘complained to me about what they describe as exorbitant bride price.’
The by-law states that a man can pay between Shs3 million and Shs5 million in bride price, six head of cattle, six goats, a lamp, paraffin, a box of laundry bar soap, bathing soap, a matchbox, saucepan and a stool for the father of the bride.
Other requirements are material for gomesi, cigarettes, a suit for the father of the bride, a goat for the bride’s uncle and another goat for the mother-in-law, among others.
A thorny issue Uganda is one of three countries, including China and Zimbabwe, where legal challenges to bride price practices have yielded significant rulings. The rulings principally focus on financial regulation, gender equity, and contractual enforcement.
In Uganda, the Supreme Court of Uganda-through a landmark 2015 decision-ruled that demanding a refund of bride price as a precondition for dissolving a customary marriage is unconstitutional. While the practice itself remains legal, the country’s apex court held that requiring repayment infringes on women’s dignity and equal rights.
The aforementioned aims are geared to protect women from being treated as commodities and reducing barriers to leaving abusive relationships.
Yet some cultural traditions appear not to adapt to modern economic realities. In defence of bride price, the prime minister of Iteso Cultural Union (ICU), Mr Andrew Ocole, told this newspaper that it is a token of appreciation to the parents of the girl.
‘It shouldn’t be looked at as selling a girl,’ Mr Ocole said, stating that it is paid in appreciation to the parents for raising their daughter.
‘What applies to other cultures shouldn’t be normalised as part of other cultures in other regions.’ Ms Grace Akello, a resident of Asilang Village, Atiira Sub-county in Serere District, said matters that touch the social fabric of families and cultural norms should be handled with caution.
Ms Akello said payment of bride price offers guarantee to both families that the boy is ready to care for the family that he is about to start.
‘Without bride price in the picture, I foresee utter confusion and lack of respect.What the President is hoping for is a recipe for further family breakages,’ she explained.
Mr Joseph Lokwang Lemukol, a resident of Nabwal in Napak in Karamoja Sub-region, believes that payment of bride price is rooted in the culture and DNA of the Karimojong.
‘It’s bride price that binds both the family of the girl and the boy. Bride price also is a safeguard against sexual pleasures outside marriage,’ Mr Lemukol noted, adding, ‘As Karimojong, what the President said shouldn’t be implemented. It’s an attack on our culture.’
Sticky issues Consequently, bride price appears to be interwoven in the Ugandan social fabric. In the northern district of Oyam there is an open marketplace for underage girls.
At Bario Market in Abok Sub-county in Oyam District, parents occasionally exchange their underage girls for some cash, chickens, goats and cows. The other party of suitors is expected to bring the dowry to the market in order for pleasantries to be exchanged.
In February 2022, this newspaper covered a story in Abok Sub-county where the area leadership in partnership with law enforcement foiled a marriage of a 13-year-old girl.
A concerned citizen had telephoned the former area LC3 chairman, Mr Phillips Ogile alias Jakayo, after he established that the underage girl was being married off to a much older man.
‘I rang the Officer in charge of Abok Police Station and we rushed there and found them at a giveaway party. The parents of the girl and the boy were dancing, other people were cooking beans, meat and chicken. When the police fired five bullets in the air, dozens of people took off,’ said Mr Ogile, with the operation resulting in the arrest of 11 people two of whom have since been convicted.
This has placed the spotlight on an age-old tradition. In the eastern sub-region of Bugisu, the established practice on dowry payment varies from generation to generation per Mr Steven Masiga, the spokesperson of the area’s cultural institution.
‘For example, my grandfather Kamoti Asoni, only asked for a padlock when his daughter Jane Shilela got married in the 1960s. My own father, Timothy Natseli, paid one shilling to my mother’s family in the early 1970s,’ he said.
Currently, dowry in the sub-region translates to about three cows for the father of the daughter. The mother-in-law gets two goats.
‘She (mother-in-law) can grab the two goats by force if not paid in time,’ Mr Masiga, said.