The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) has broken silence on Speaker Anita Among’s marriage.
Documents, at the beginning of the week surfaced on social media indicating that Makindye Division Town Clerk Geoffrey Rwakabale had invalidated Among’s marriage with her husband Hassim Magogo.
The Town Clerk while writing to registrar of marriages at URSB said he processed Among’s matter under duress, adding that he had since deleted the couple from the Division’s marriage register.
However, the registrar of marriages at URSB maintains that Mr Rwakabale over assumed his power to think that he could annul the union, which power belongs to Courts of law.
STATEMENT ON CUSTOMARY MARRIAGE REGISTRATION OF MAGOGO MOSES HASSIM AND AMONG ANITA ANNET
Reference is made to a letter by the Town Clerk of Makindye Division Urban Council, Mr. Rwakabale Geoffrey, Ref: MKD/KCCA/1308/06 and dated 16th August, 2022 circulating on social media regarding the rescinding of a customary marriage registration between Magogo Moses Hassim and Among Anita Annet. Kindly be advised as follows;
The role of the Town Clerk in customary marriage registration is to register and transmit a return to the Registrar of Marriages at Uganda Registration Services Bureau. Neither, the Town clerk nor Registrar of Marriages have the authority to invalidate a marriage. Therefore, the letter from the Town Clerk cannot invalidate the marriage between Magogo Moses Hassim and Among Anita Annet. The public is put on notice to ignore the misleading circulating stories about the validity of the said marriage.
Upon completion of the registration at the Sub County Chief or Town Clerk’s office, the Marriage return is filed with Uganda Registration Services Bureau (Registrar of Marriages) to be entered on the National Marriage Register maintained by URSB.
A customary marriage is one of the five types of legal marriages in Uganda. A customary marriage is celebrated according to the rites of an African Community and one of the parties to the marriage must be a member of that community.
Non-registration of a marriage does not invalidate a marriage. However, registration of a marriage gives evidential value pertaining to that marriage.
