THE UNRESOLVED QUESTION ON THE PAYMENT OF BRIDE PRICE IN UGANDA BY RWAMBALE DOUGLAUS LLB/41425/91/DU A RESEARCH DISSERTATION SUBMITED TO THE SCHOOL OF LAW IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF THE A WARD OF BACHELORS DEGREE IN LAWS OF I(AMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY JULY,2013 DECLARATION I RwambaleDouglaus to the best of my knowledge declare that th~ ,work presented in this dissertation is a result of my own independent research effort and investigation. It has never been submitted to any other institution ofhigher learning for an award. Signature ...~~~~~ .. ................... Date .... 9.:?.. ~ .T. \.~ \~. .... .. .. I ' APPROVAL This research dissertation titled "The unresolved question on the payment of bride price in Uganda" prepared and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the award of Bachelor oflaw of Kampala International University is hereby submitted for approval by; Signed... ~ ........... ' Mr. MUNDAANI ROBERT Research supervisy.r , ' Date ........8:-..C jJl:t/J.3 ...... ii DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my dear parents the Right Reverend Bishop Hannington Bahemuka and his queen Madam Bahemuka B Zebia who has always prayed for me to be successful, my brothers and relatives, without forgetting my only grandmother Edronah Kabahindi who discovered my talent and encouraged me to study law. I further dedicate this work to all my class mates and my friends especially Ssematiko John who has always discussed for me till the end of the course. Finally, dedicate this work to my beloved brother Reverend canon Bandirana Timothy for all the suppmt he rendered towards my success. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Almighty God, whose sufficient providence and protection towards the completion of this work was unlimited. Great thanks to my beloved parents the Right Reverend Bishop Hannington Bahemuka and Madam Queen Zebia for the love, financial and moral support given to me during my studies. May the Almighty God reward you abundantly. I would like to acknowledge my fellow students/colleagues for all the support and advise especially the LLB class of2009/2013. May God bless you all. I take this opportunity to thank my best friend Nampijja M A1met for all the prayers, assistance rendered to me towards the success of this work. May God reward you abundantly. iv LIST OF STATUTES MalTiage Act, cap 251 Customary MalTiage Registration Act, cap 246 Divorce Act, cap 249 The Marriage of Africans Act, cap 253 The Hindu Man·iage and Divorce Act, cap 250 The marriage and divorce of Mohammedans Act, cap 252 The Children's Act cap 59 The successio11 Act cap 162 The Constitution of the Republic Of Uganda 1995 (as amended) v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................................... i APPROVAL .............................................................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................................... iv List of statutes ........................................................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE ....................................................................................................................................... 1 THE GENARAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ................................................·.: .................................................. 3 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .................................................................................................. 3 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................... 4 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................................. .4 1.5 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................................... S 1.6 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................ 11 1.7 SYNOPSIS ........................................................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER TW0 ..................................................................................................................................... 12 2.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 12 2.1 HISTORICAL CONTEXT................................................................................................................ 12 2.2 MARRIAGE AND BRIDE PRICE ................................................................................................... 12 2.3 Arguments for Bride-price ................................................................................................................ 21 2.4 ARGUMENTS AGAINST ................................................................................................................ 22 2.5 NATURE OF PAYMENT OF BRIDE PRICE ................................................................................. 24 2.6 BRIDE PRICE AND DOWRY ......................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER THREEE .............................................................................................................................. 26 THE LEGAL POSITION OF BRIDE PRICE IN UGANDA ................................................................. 26 3.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 26 3.1 THE CURRENT LEGAL POSITION OF BRIDE PRICE ............................................................... 28 3.2 THE FUNCTION OF BRIDE PRICE ............................................................................................... 29 3.3 THE SOCIETY AND BRIDE PRICE .............................................................................................. 32 Vi 3.4 UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS OF BRIDE PRICE .............................................................. 33 3.5 CHANGES IN BRIDE PRICE OVER TIME ................................................................................... 35 CHAPTERFOUR ................................................................................................................................... 36 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH BRIDE PRICE ............................................................................. 37 4.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 37 4.1 THE QUESTION OF PROHIBITION AND CONTROL OF BRIDE PRICE ................................. 39 4.2 Evaluation .......................................................................................................................................... 40 4.3 Enforcement mechanism ................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER FIVE .................................................................................. :.: ................................................ 44 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................... .44 5.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 44 5.1 HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL CONTEXT OF BRIDE PRICE ......................................... .44 5.2 CUSTOM AND TRADITION .......................................................................................................... 46 5.3 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF BRIDE-PRICE ....................................................... .47 5.3.1 POSITIVE IMPACTS OF BRIDE-PRICE ................................................................................... .47 5.3.2 NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF BRIDE-PRICE ................................................................................. .49 5.4 BRIDE-PRICE VIS -A- VIS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE .................................................................. 51 5.5 CASE STUDY .................................................................................................................................. 51 5.6 ARE BRIDE-PRICE AND POVERTY CONNECTED? ................................................................. 55 5.7 REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES OF THE IMPACTS OF BRIDE-PRICE PROVIDED BY THE RESEARCH ...........................................................................................................................................