Nakatudde, a young lady from Lungujja, decided that since her hunk of man, Jammy had proposed to her, it was only right that she take him home to her parents for a formal visit (also known as a “kukyaala” in Buganda). She hoped that this visit would lead to a kwanjula.
On the day of the kukyala, Jammy along with an entourage of close uncles, siblings and friends arrived at Nakatudde's parents' home to officially ask for her hand in marriage. The function run smoothly but when Nakatudde’s father finally spoke, everything turned sour. He said that Jammy would not be allowed to marry Nakatudde. His reason, “…you’re too short, my grandchildren will also end up too short…”
Nakatudde decided to disregard her father’s words and four months later, she and Jammy had their kwanjula (customary marriage) at her uncle’s home. Although her mother and paternal uncles were available at the customary marriage, did not show up and categorically told everyone that he had not given his consent to that kwanjula and promised to challenge it claiming that he did not give his consent.
SO WAS NAKATUDDE’S MARRIAGE TO JAMMY LAWFUL AND IS PARENTAL CONSENT REALLY NECESSARY WHEN YOU ARE AN ADULT?
The law recognizes that an adult does not need anyone’s permission when he/she decide to do something including getting married. However, this same law recognizes that we all have a right to get married according to our customs and norms. This is called a customary marriage.
If your cultural norms require a parent to consent to your marriage, then you must get this consent before you can engage in a customary marriage. If it turns out that the norms of Nakatudde’s tribe demand for that consent from her father, then her ceremony at her uncle’s home would be invalid in law. If the parent is not alive or cannot be found, then the customs tend to provide for someone else to give this consent like an uncle, or the heir of the deceased father. However, if the parent is alive and well, then you run the risk of being unlawfully married if you ignore the need for that consent.
Consent of a parent to a marriage can be in form of a written letter where parents detail consent to a marriage. This may also be accompanied by participation in the celebration of marriage.
#BarefootLaw
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