KAMPALA — The Ugandan Judiciary reported a persistent wave of divorce petitions, prompting a strategic shift toward Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the 2024/2025 judicial year.
Despite a marginal decline in filings compared to the previous year, legal experts and judicial officers are raising alarms over the “lack of resilience” in modern marriages and the increasing economic independence of women.
The Numbers: A Decade of Rapid Growth
According to the Judiciary’s annual performance report for 2024/2025, Ugandan courts heard 2,674 divorce cases this past year. While this is a slight dip from the 2,833 cases recorded in 2023/2024, it represents a staggering leap from a decade ago. In 2016, for instance, only 21 divorce cases were registered nationwide.
“Family-related disputes, particularly divorces, continue to dominate the court docket,” the report noted, ranking them ahead of property disputes and breach-of-agreement cases.
Drivers of Change: Empowerment and the “Marriage Bill”
Online reports from AP News and DW Africa highlight that nearly 80% of divorce petitions are now initiated by women. Legal experts attribute this to a “fairer legal climate” and the “normalisation of divorce.”
Gender Equality: Rights activists, such as Maria Nassali of Makerere University, state that women are increasingly empowered to leave “beds of thorns.”
The Marriage Bill 2024: Currently under debate in Parliament, this bill has sparked controversy. Some experts, like Dr Diana Musoke of the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), warn that the bill’s “no-fault divorce” provisions might “water down the institution of marriage.”
Key Causes of Marital Breakdown
Recent data and court observations identify several recurring triggers for the current surge:
1. Infidelity and Domestic Violence: These remain the primary legal grounds cited in petitions.
2. Financial Independence: As more women enter the workforce, the “survivalist” need to remain in unhappy unions has diminished.
3. The “2021 Cohort”: Dr Musoke noted that a significant number of divorcing couples are those who married as recently as 2021, suggesting a lack of conflict-resolution skills in younger generations.
4. Property Disputes: The revised Law Governing Persons and Family now allows judges to order unequal division of property for marriages lasting less than five years, a move intended to discourage “property-targeted” unions.
