”Magogo and Among‘s marriage registration valid, ignore rumours,” URSB clarifies
The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) has clarified that the customary marriage registration of FUFA president, Moses Magogo and Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among is valid.
The newlyweds tied the knot last month in a very private ceremony and later went on to register their customary marriage.
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However, this week, stories have been circulating on social media, suggesting that the office of Makindye Division town clerk had receded registration of the couple’s marriage.
The stories followed a letter dated August 16, by the town clerk of Makindye Division, Geoffrey Rwakabale, making rounds on social media, regarding the validity of the couple’s marriage registration.
In the letter, the town clerk informed the registrar of marriages for Kampala District, that he had deleted the couple from the division’s customary marriage register, citing glaring omissions and errors.
“The purpose of this communication is to therefore recede and withdraw the registration and to inform you that I have formally deleted the couple from the Division customary marriage register,” the said letter from Rwakabale, partly reads.
However, in a statement issued on Thursday, the registrar of marriages, Ronald Jackson Lutunda, clarified that Magogo and Among’s customary marriage registration is valid and asked members of public to ignore stories suggesting otherwise.
Lutunda stated that 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, not validating a marriage.
“Neither, the town clerk nor the registrar of marriages have the authority to invalidate a marriage. Therefore, the letter from the town clerk cannot invalidate the marriage between Moses Hashim Magogo and Anita Annet Among. The public is put on notice to ignore the misleading circulating stories about the validity of the said marriage,” the statement by Lutunda partly reads.
He further explained that upon completion of the registration at the Sub County chief or town clerk’s office, the marriage return is filled with the registrar of marriages to be entered on the National Marriage Register maintained by URSB.
”Non-registration of a marriage does not invalidate a marriage. However, registration of a marriage gives evidential value pertaining to that marriage,” he said
A customary marriage is one of the five legal marriages in Uganda celebrated according to the rites of an African community.
Accordingly, one of the parties to the marriage must be a member of that community.
