Religious leaders split over IDs for weddings

Mixed reactions have greeted the government’s directive to different faiths not to solemnise marriages if the intending couples don’t have the National Identification Number (NIN) that is inscribed on national identity cards.

Pastor Martin Ssempa of Makerere Community Church said the directive makes it difficult for people planning to enter the institution of marriage.

“Entering marriage is a right even availed in our Constitution as long as one is above 18 years of age. This directive is unconstitutional and can be challenged in the courts of law. We should be making it easier for people to get and stay married,” Pastor Ssempa said.

He added: “Not everyone in Uganda is registered with a national ID and also, there is that huge nightmare of replacing a stolen ID. Rather, we should have what we call a valid ID of a person, which is acceptable in court, whether a birth certificate, whatever [document] a person has, we should be able to go with that.”

But the Secretary General of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU), Mr Joshua Kitakule, is in harmony with the government’s directive, reasoning that the NIN is very important for officiating unions.

“Like before, we used to ask [couples] to do HIV tests to be sure the people you are blessing are fine or even if they were sick or discordant, they can be helped. That is the spirit in which [the government] is bringing this idea and do not think that the religious leaders are mad about it,” Mr Kitakule said. IRCU is a national-based organisation that ties the efforts of religious institutions to address issues of common concern.

A NIN is a set of numbers assigned to an individual upon successful enrolment by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA). It is an 11-number unique identifier assigned to an individual.

In an August 28 letter, the Secretary-General at the Catholic Secretariat, Msgr John Kauta, directed that the information concerning the requirement of National Identity cards for couples formalising marriages be disseminated to different parishes to comply with the existing civil law requirements as required by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).

The deputy secretary in charge of programmes at the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC), Ms Lois Twikirize, also backed the order. UJCC consists of the Church of Uganda, the Catholic Church as well as the Uganda Orthodox Church.

“[These] IDs are still very important [for officiating marriages]. They help in the identification of individuals getting married. The identification reduces incidents of deceit [about who one is] when considering marriage. During courtship or dating, someone may lie to their partner that they are Ugandan when they are probably of another nationality. The national IDs help check some of these things. It is a safety net,” Ms Twikirize said.

On his part, to resolve some of these issues, Pastor Ssempa proposes that the government creates a ministry dedicated to fighting for the institution of marriages and families in Uganda rather than leaving the “big data technocrats to make such decisions, something, which is not right”.

On the other hand, the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) spokesperson, Mr Ashraf Zziwa, said the directive is not something new to them as they have been observing the rule for a couple of years now.

“For the couples who come for the ceremony [Nikkah] here, this is part of the requirements to bring. We have a certain form couples are expected to fill and then they have to attach [a copy] of their national ID. Foreigners attach [a copy] of their passport,” Mr Zziwa said.

After the ceremony, Mr Zziwa elaborated that the couple is issued with a certificate by the directorate of Sharia [department that certifies Islamic marriages]. The couple then takes the certificate to URSB, which then formally registers the union. 

“Without the national ID, the Nikkah is not formally registered,” Mr Zziwa added.

There is no specific information yet on when the directive will take effect for faiths not yet implementing it.