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

President Yoweri Museveni has voiced strong criticism against the escalating costs associated with bride price and extravagant wedding ceremonies in Uganda. He warned that the significant financial burden is increasingly pushing young Ugandans away from marriage.

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You, the Banyankole, are damaging the population with this thing of paying bride price. Why ask for 15 cows and millions of shillings? Why are you selling your children?

During the Okuhingira ceremony for Kisha Isabel Byanjeru Kaboyo, daughter of State Minister Alice Kaboyo, Museveni urged communities to revert to original marriage values. "You, the Banyankole, are damaging the population with this thing of paying bride price. Why ask for 15 cows and millions of shillings? Why are you selling your children?" he questioned, adding that such practices make young people "fear marriage and, unfortunately, some begin their lives together in debt."

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You make young people fear marriage and, unfortunately, some begin their lives together in debt.

Museveni emphasized that marriage should prioritize the couple's relationship over financial demands or ostentatious celebrations. He shared his own experience, noting that he married his wife, Maama Janet, abroad with only eight guests. "These extravagant weddings are going to disturb people," he stated, calling on religious leaders to address the matter through their sermons.

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I have 15 grandchildren. I wedded Maama Janet abroad with only eight guests at a luncheon. These extravagant weddings are going to disturb people.

The President also acknowledged the area's residents for embracing wealth creation, citing the potential of River Rwizi for commercial agriculture. He paid tribute to late freedom fighters and congratulated Minister Kaboyo on raising her family. Museveni's comments align with a national discussion on the commercialization of bride price, with some, like Makerere University lecturer Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, arguing it has strayed from its cultural roots and become a display of greed.

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I can never sit in a meeting to discuss items or money to be given to me for my daughter. That would be an insult to my daughter, and a display of greed on my part.