Constitutional Court Rejects No-Falt Divorce Law

By Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1431 EAT on Tuesday 19 August 2025

The Constitutional Court, in a 4-1 ruling, has upheld provisions of the Divorce Act requiring couples to state valid grounds before a marriage can be dissolved

In the lead judgment, Justice Hellen Obura stated that allowing divorce without an inquiry into the reasons would undermine the spirit of the Constitution and strip Parliament of its mandate to legislate on such a fundamental matter.

“The norms, values, and aspirations of the people of Uganda, as plainly stated in the Constitution, protect and preserve the family, marriage, and children,” she wrote.

Justice Obura emphasized that introducing no-fault divorce would effectively amount to a fundamental overhaul of Uganda’s divorce laws without public involvement.

“Any change that overhauls the divorce law in Uganda should be done through a legislative process that entails wide consultation with all stakeholders,” the judgment stated.

The petitioners—Innocent Ngobi, Nicholas Opiyo, Isaac Mugerwa, Dr. Busingye Kabumba, and Stella Nakagiri—had argued that sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 30, 33, and 38 of the Divorce Act (Cap. 249) were unconstitutional because they compel parties to provide reasons for seeking a divorce.

The petitioners argued that marriage is founded on mutual consent and that either spouse should have the unilateral right to dissolve it. They also challenged provisions in the Divorce Act that protect only the wife’s property during pending divorce proceedings.

However, Justice Obura dismissed the petition in its entirety, noting that the concept of consent in marriage was historically designed to safeguard women. She cautioned that allowing divorce without cause, as proposed by the petitioners, could disrupt social order in Uganda, a predominantly religious society.

The Court, however, agreed that the property protections currently afforded exclusively to wives during separation proceedings are discriminatory. Justice Obura recommended amending the law to extend similar protections to husbands.

The majority judgment was endorsed by Justices Asa Mugenyi, Moses Kawumi Kazibwe, and Eva Luswata. However, Justice Fredrick Egonda-Ntende dissented, arguing that once consent between spouses has broken down, courts should not be required to investigate the reasons for a divorce. He concurred, however, that property protections during separation should apply equally to both spouses.

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