Pastors want cohabiting couples recognized as legally married in New Bill

Kampala, (UG):- A group of Pentecostal pastors in Kampala has called for a provision in the Marriage Bill, 2024 to recognize couples who have cohabited for at least five years as legally married.

The pastors, under the National Pastors Platform of Kampala, argue that such a law would curb the growing trend of men avoiding formal commitment, even in cases where children are involved. They believe this would provide greater legal protection for women and children affected by unstable relationships.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Bishop David Kiganda emphasized that cohabitation has weakened the institution of marriage, leading to numerous broken families.

“Some people do not wish to marry, and they have ruined many lives. We propose that if a couple has lived together for at least five years, they should automatically be considered legally married, provided neither party is already committed to another legal marriage,” Kiganda stated.

The pastors submitted their views during a joint meeting of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and the Committee on Gender, Labour, and Social Development on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

These two committees are tasked with reviewing and processing the Marriage Bill, 2024, sponsored by Tororo District Woman MP, Hon. Sarah Opendi, and the Sexual Offences Bill, 2024, tabled by Soroti District Woman MP, Hon. Anna Adeke.

Among their key recommendations, the pastors also called for stricter requirements for dissolving marriages, citing cases of couples colluding to obtain divorces for selfish reasons. They argued that the current law lacks clear guidelines on what constitutes an irretrievably broken marriage, urging legislators to define explicit grounds in the new law.

Another contentious issue raised was the pastors’ request for small rural Pentecostal churches to be allowed to conduct weddings. However, some MPs expressed concern that this could compromise the legality of marriages and create challenges in regulating religious institutions.

Hon. Charles Bakkabulindi (NRM, Workers’ Representative) warned against granting such authority at lower administrative levels:

“If you want to kill the spirit of your sect, try to dilute it by giving authority to those church leaders at village and parish levels. You want to expand it but in the process, you may fail to control those leaders,” he said.

Hon. Laura Kanushu, the national representative for Persons with Disabilities, raised further concerns about unaffiliated upcountry churches, questioning whether they meet legal requirements for solemnizing marriages.

“There are many of those churches which do not subscribe to their headquarters. Are you saying that those churches which do not meet the legal requirements to solemnize marriage should be allowed?” Kanushu asked.

Kanushu was concerned that Christian groups that have so far appeared before the committees, have varying views on principles guiding Christian marriage, saying it will be hard for the committee to defend their views while presenting the Bill to Parliament.

“We had thought that Christians will be on the same page, but we do not know who is interpreting the Bible correctly. At least women activist groups have similar views; we need to defend the Bill but it will be hard if we have different views from you,” said Kanushu.

Meanwhile, MPs remained undecided on the pastors’ request to grant their church leaders the status of marriage registrars, a privilege currently extended to Bahai and Buddhist marriages under the law.