Stop the Cows: Museveni Warns High Bride Price Pricing Young People Out of Marriage

What the report says

President Yoweri Museveni has publicly criticised the rising cost of bride price and elaborate wedding ceremonies, arguing that they are making marriage harder for young people and leaving some couples starting family life in debt. Nile Post reported that he made the remarks on Saturday during an Okuhingira ceremony for Kisha Isabel Byanjeru Kaboyo and Aaron Kafureeka in Kakyeera, Kiruhura District.

According to the report, Museveni urged families and communities to preserve the meaning of marriage while avoiding what he described as excessive financial demands. He questioned the practice of asking for large numbers of cows and large sums of money, saying such expectations can discourage marriage. He also said the focus should be on the couple and on building a stable home, rather than on costly celebrations or outside interference.

The president contrasted today’s expensive ceremonies with his own wedding, and encouraged religious leaders to address the issue in their preaching. He also used the event to praise local wealth-creation efforts and to honour the families of the couple and the late freedom fighters Kaboyo and Kafureeka. The report places his comments in a wider national debate over whether bride price and traditional ceremonies have become too commercialised, a criticism that some academics and activists in Uganda have raised as well.