BY JOACKIM KULE
Residents of Kasese District have welcomed the Uganda President’s proposal for a return to the traditional methods of bride price, which seeks to prevent exorbitant demands from the grooms’ families.
President Yoweri Museveni argues that many young Ugandans have found it difficult to start marriage because brides’ families make several demands that are sometimes unaffordable to the groom.
Now, residents in Kasese, especially the Bakonzo-Bayiira, welcome the president’s suggestion which emphasises the need for the dowry to be intended to facilitate young people initiate families other than being an impediment to marriage.
Mr. Milton Bwambale Bikopo, a resident of Kasese town who is also a Bakonzo culture enthusiast, told Messiah Radio that previously the dowry was constructed in a manner that would facilitate a young man start a family and adds that it is the very reason why the extended family was urged to support the groom in the realization of this bride price.
Bikopo, however, argues that currently dowry has been used by some families of the bride as an opportunity to extort the groom’s family of their hard-earned resources and as a result they are encouraging elopement. He explained that for example the Bakonzo traditional dowry involves only 12 goats, a piece of backcloth, 12 jerrycans of local beer and only a handful of gifts.
Bikopo argues that given the persistent extortion of the grooms’ families, it is high parliament enacts a law that will regulate dowry and bride price by establishing a ceiling and or cap on the items needed for a marriage to happen.
Mr. Selevano Mbabugha, a resident of Mahango sub-county, indicates that most youth have remained unmarried because they cannot afford dowry and urges parents to stick to the dictates of culture on marriage.
Mr. Jafali Kigutia, the Local Council I Chairperson for Base Camp Lower Cell in the Central Division, says that because bride price is increasingly becoming expensive, some families even sell property like land in order to enter into marriage.
Kigutia explains that starting a family on such grounds eventually leads to domestic violence and appeals to religious leaders to prevail over the situation.
ENDS.