Top Ethics Official Rejects Ssempa’s Push for Polygamy in Christian Marriage

Last week, Pastor Ssempa set tongues wagging during his appearance before legislators to contribute to the Marriage Bill, urging that the provisions restricting Christian marriage to one wife should be scrapped.

Charismatic preacher Martin Ssempa's unorthodox call for Parliament to legalize polygamy in Christian faith should be ignored, according to Rev Canon Aaron Mwesigye, director of ethics and religious affairs in the Office of the President.

Last week, Pastor Ssempa set tongues wagging during his appearance before legislators to contribute to the Marriage Bill, urging that the provisions restricting Christian marriage to one wife should be scrapped.

Ssempa's controversial proposal to legalize polygamy for Christians, criminalize adultery, and regulate conjugal rights has sparked fierce opposition, with Mwesigye dismissing the idea as personal and irrelevant to the national discourse.

While addressing the Committees of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Gender, Labour, and Social Development on Thursday, February 6, 2025, Pastor Ssempa argued that Uganda’s marriage laws unfairly limit Christian men to monogamy, even though many are already in polygamous unions.

"We must recognize polygamy as an arrangement for the Christian community. Why do we have to separate families or break down marriages for people to be called Christians?" Ssempa questioned.

However, in his response to the proposal, Rev. Canon Mwesigy strongly rejected Ssempa's stance, stating that the pastor was speaking from a personal perspective rather than a national or religious one.

"Pastor Ssempa was speaking as an individual, not as government. Parliament would be wasting its time discussing this issue when there are far more pressing matters. Just because he pronounced it does not make it a matter of national importance," Mwesigye argued.

Mwesigye further questioned Ssempa's motivations, suggesting that his push for polygamy was rooted in personal experience rather than any doctrinal position.

"I know Pastor Ssempa personally. He spoke from his past history. I think he lost a relationship, and now he is trying to justify polygamy so that he can be given another opportunity. These are personal decisions, not issues that should occupy Parliament," he charged.

Mwesigye reaffirmed the Christian position on marriage, which upholds monogamy as the only acceptable form of union.

"For us Christians, it is one wife, one husband. The Bible is clear: what God has put together should not be separated. If one spouse dies, then you are allowed to remarry, but you are not supposed to have two partners at the same time. That is not beautiful, it is not better," he stated firmly.

Mwesigye concluded by reminding the public that "ideas are not a monopoly of one person," dismissing Ssempa's call for Parliament to entertain the debate and emphasising that the pastor's position was driven by personal circumstances rather than religious doctrine or societal need.

As Parliament continues its deliberations on the Marriage Bill, it remains to be seen whether Ssempa’s controversial call will gain traction or if Christian leaders like Mwesigye will prevail in opposing polygamy within the faith.