Uganda: Pastor Ssempa pushes for polygamy in Marriage Bill
Controversial pastor, Martin Ssempa has asked Parliament to legalise polygamy for Christians, criminalise adultery and set a minimum number of times for couples to honour their conjugal obligations.
Pastor Ssempa, the leader of Makerere Community Church said whereas the current laws on marriage recognise monogamy as the only form of Christian marriage, there are many 'good Christians' who are in polygamous marriages. 'We must recognise polygamy as an arrangement for the Christian community. Why do we have to separate families, [or] break down marriages for people to be called Christians?' he said.
The pastor made his proposals while making submissions on the Marriage Bill, 2024 before the Committees of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Gender, Labour and Social Development on Thursday, 06 February 2025.
The Marriage Bill, 2024 seeks to reform, repeal and consolidate the legal framework governing marriage in Uganda; to provide for recognized marriages in Uganda, and separation and dissolution of marriage. Ssempa who said he was not afraid of the controversy his proposal might create, added that many of his fellow pastors were in agreement but could not openly come out. 'We cannot say that those who marry more than one wife cannot be called Christians,' he said.
Ssempa asked MPs to criminalise adultery within the bill, saying it is an unregulated offence that has wrecked marriages. 'We are lawless around the area of dissolving domestic disputes especially adultery. We cannot have a law on marriage without a clause on adultery to safeguard the covenant,' he said.
He also wants the new law to crack a whip on denial of conjugal rights in marriage, which he said is a cardinal cause of violence in families and ultimately marriage dissolutions.
Ssempa commended the provision within the Bill that provides that failure to consummate marriage within the first six months renders it void.
He also asked for inclusion of a clause that prescribes a minimum of three times in a week for couples to honour their conjugal obligations.
According to Ssempa, although denial of sex in marriage is a serious matter wrecking families, is not currently provided for in the law.
MPs challenged the pastor to justify the need to include polygamy under Christian marriages, questioning its biblical basis. 'Can you give us a scripture in the New Testament that allows Christians to have more than one wife? Why do you want to introduce polygamy into the Christian community when there are other forms of marriage such as the customary, and the one for Muslims which are potentially polygamous?' asked Hon. Laura Kanushu, the Deputy Chairperson, Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development.
The Chairperson of the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Stephen Bakka Mugabi observed that the new law should not infringe on people's privacy to the extent of legislating on the conjugal obligations of couples. 'Are we not over legislating, for the state to enter into people's bedrooms? Is the number of times proposed for couples to honour conjugal rights backed by research?' asked Bakka Mugabi.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
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