The Inter Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) has backed the proposal by Parliament sentencing cohabiting couples to a three-year jail term.
The proposal, tabled by Sarah Opendi, the Tororo District Woman Representative, one of the primary movers of the Marriage Bill 2024, would see couples in such arrangements serve the sentence or pay a fine of Shs 10 million.
While appearing before the Joint Committee of Legal and Gender on February 20, 2025 Joseph Serwadda, Co-Chairperson, Inter Religious Council of Presidents argued that the penalty is crucial to protect the rights of children and the interests of the people involved.
“While we push for the criminalization of cohabitation under the Bill, we observe that there is a need to offer adequate protection or rights for parties, children, and property acquired in cohabitation relations,” Serwadda said.
According to Serwadda, given the magnitude of the many relationships founded on cohabitation, the IRCU recommends that the government enact an exclusive bill separate from the Marriage Bill, 2024, regulating relationships between cohabiting persons.
In clause 89 of the Marriage Bill, Opendi proposed a fine of UGX 10M or a jail sentence of 3 years to be imposed on people holding out as though married, where she went further to explain that holding out under the Bill means living together as husband and wife, acquiring or owing property jointly, bearing children together, and taking on the man’s surname.
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However, Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) family law expert, Dr Diana Musoke, in her submission, rejected other proponents of the Opendi bill.
She argued that the proposal of having marriages conducted virtually or via Zoom in Uganda, wondering how such marriages will be consummated if the parties are living in two different time zones.
“The law introduces marriage by virtual or Zoom or whatever gadget. Does this mean that consummation is no longer a necessary essential requirement validating the marriage? Can two people claim to be married but living in different time zones? What is the purpose of marriage then without sexual intercourse?” Musoke asked.
Musoke also rejected the proposal of having marriages avoided because of infertility on either party, wondering why marriages have to end over something that can be treated medically.
The bill tabled in October last year proposes a requirement for marital consummation. According to Clause 41, newlywed couples are required to consummate their marriage within six months or risk having their marriage declared voidable.
According to Musoke, being impotent can be determined medically and scientifically and can be corrected by surgery.
Musoke further argued that the period proposed in the bill is too long to condemn two people to live together in such a condition, yet the very purpose of marriage is to legalize sexual intercourse.
On October, 4 2024, the Bill proposed by Tororo District Woman Representative, Hon. Sarah Opendi was tabled on her behalf on Thursday, 03 October 2024.
