President Museveni has criticised the rising cost of bride price and lavish wedding ceremonies, warning that the growing financial burden is discouraging many young Ugandans from marrying.
Speaking on Saturday during the Okuhingira ceremony of Kisha Isabel Byanjeru Kaboyo, daughter of State Minister for Luweero Triangle and Rwenzori Region Alice Kaboyo, at Kakyeera in Kiruhura District, Museveni urged communities to return to the original values of marriage and avoid turning it into an expensive affair.
"You, the Banyankole, are damaging the population with this thing of paying bride price. Why ask for 15 cows and millions of shillings? Why are you selling your children?" Museveni said.
"You make young people fear marriage and, unfortunately, some begin their lives together in debt."
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The President said marriage should be centred on the couple rather than financial demands or extravagant celebrations.
"I congratulate Kisha and Aaron Kafureeka upon their Okuhingira and convey greetings from Maama Janet. I reminded the couple that marriage is for two people. Build your home on friendship and do not allow unnecessary interference," he said.
Drawing from his own experience, Museveni contrasted today's elaborate ceremonies with his own wedding.
"I have 15 grandchildren. I wedded Maama Janet abroad with only eight guests at a luncheon. These extravagant weddings are going to disturb people. I urge religious leaders to address this issue through their preaching," he said.
The President also commended residents of the area for embracing wealth creation initiatives, saying resources such as River Rwizi, which feeds Lake Kakyera, provide significant opportunities for commercial agriculture through irrigation.
He paid tribute to the late freedom fighters Kaboyo and Kafureeka for their contribution to Uganda's liberation and congratulated Minister Alice Kaboyo for raising her family.
Museveni's remarks add to a growing national debate over the relevance of modern bride price practices and increasingly costly marriage ceremonies.
In November last year, Makerere University lecturer, human rights activist and editorial cartoonist Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo criticised the commercialisation of bride price, arguing that the practice has drifted far from its original cultural purpose.
"I can never sit in a meeting to discuss items or money to be given to me for my daughter. That would be an insult to my daughter, and a display of greed on my part," Ssentongo wrote on X.
"My daughter is not like a cow that I'm breeding for the market, for me to earn from her marriage. All I would wish for is a sensible man who would treat her right, and that they love each other."
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Ssentongo argued that bride price traditionally symbolised appreciation and demonstrated a groom's readiness to provide for a family, but said it has increasingly become a source of financial pressure and social exclusion.
He also criticised the growing extravagance surrounding traditional ceremonies.
"Today, Kukyala has become a huge show-off function. Kwanjula is like a concert. Then a bigger religious wedding follows," he observed.
The issue has increasingly attracted public attention as many young couples cite high bride price demands, costly introduction ceremonies and expensive weddings as major obstacles to marriage.
Critics argue that while bride price remains an important cultural tradition, excessive financial demands undermine its original purpose of strengthening family bonds and preparing couples for married life.
Museveni's intervention is likely to reignite calls for cultural and religious leaders to promote simpler, more affordable marriage ceremonies while preserving the cultural significance of traditional practices.
