KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s Constitutional Court has ruled that sections of the country’s Divorce Act are unconstitutional for favoring women over men during judicial separations. The court has called on lawmakers to revise the law to ensure equal rights for both spouses.
In a judgment delivered Monday, a panel of justices led by Justice Fredrick Egonda-Ntende declared that sections 15, 16, and 18 of the Divorce Act are inconsistent with Article 31 of the Constitution, which guarantees equal rights in marriage and its dissolution.
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“I, therefore, find that sections 15, 16 and 18 of the Divorce Act are inconsistent with Article 31 of the Constitution, which provides for equal rights to wives and husbands during marriage and its dissolution,” Egonda-Ntende ruled.
Justices Hellen Obura, Eva Luswata, Dr. Asa Mugenyi, and Moses Kazibwe Kawumi concurred with the ruling. The court found that the challenged provisions give women rights, particularly regarding property ownership and the protection of assets during judicial separation, without offering similar rights to men.
For instance, Section 15 of the act treats a man’s property as marital property during a judicial separation while a woman retains independent control of her assets.
The justices warned against outrightly striking down the sections, stating that it would create a legal vacuum. Instead, they directed that the provisions be interpreted to include men, with necessary modifications to align with the Constitution.
The ruling came from a petition filed by a group of lawyers, including Innocent Ngobi Ndiko, Nicholas Opiyo, and Dr. Busingye Kabumba, against the Attorney General and New Hope Uganda. The Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (Fida-Uganda) and the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) were also parties to the case.
The court also ruled that the practice of refunding bride price upon the dissolution of a marriage is unconstitutional, arguing that it offends a woman’s dignity by portraying her as property.
Lawyer Nicholas Opiyo called the country’s existing laws “colonial” and noted the slow pace of legislative reform.
The ruling was welcomed by various legal experts and civil society leaders, who said it promotes gender equality. Anthony Asiimwe, vice president of the Uganda Law Society, urged the legislature to act on the court’s recommendations with a specific timeframe.
The court, however, found that other sections of the Divorce Act, including those regulating divorce proceedings to secure marriages, were not unconstitutional.
