Uganda Court rules cohabiting couples must share property equally

• Uganda’s High Court ruled that property acquired during cohabitation must be shared fairly between partners after separation.
• The judgment acknowledges both direct and indirect contributions, setting a precedent for thousands of cohabiting couples.
• While lawyers praise the ruling as progressive, religious leaders fear it could discourage formal marriage.

Following a historic ruling, the High Court has arbitrated that property acquired during cohabitation should be shared between partners equally upon separation. This marks a major turn away from Uganda’s long traditional legal stance that cohabitation does not create spousal rights.

The case that gave birth to this verdict stemmed from a dispute between Robert Kabuye and Toupista Nanyonga. These started living together from 1998 until 2018 when they parted ways. After their separation, Kabuye dragged Nanyonga to the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Makindye, seeking ownership of a plot of land in Ndejje, Lubugumu, Wakiso District, and an order evicting her. Kabuye argued that he had merely allowed her and her child from a previous relationship to live there.

However, in 2022, Chief Magistrate Patience Loma Tukundane ruled that the land was jointly owned and ordered that it be valued, giving Kabuye half of its worth. A dissatisfied Kabuye ran to the High Court and appealed.

On July 30, 2025, High Court Judge Jane Elizabeth Alividza revised the award, granting Kabuye one-third of the value of the land and developments. She reasoned that property disputes between cohabiting couples must be resolved through general property, trust, and equity principles, since cohabitation has no statutory recognition like marriage.

Justice Alividza emphasized that even without a marriage certificate or significant financial contribution, a cohabiting partner is entitled to a share if they contributed directly or indirectly to property acquisition.

“Equity demands that the appellant leaves with something and does not go unrewarded at the end of the relationship,” she ruled.

The decision has drawn mixed reactions from different sections of the public. Lawyers Jonah Kirumira and Abdul Noor Kinene praised it as progressive, arguing that many Ugandan couples cohabit and pool resources to acquire property that must be protected. They said the ruling promotes fairness and reflects social realities.

However, Ashraf Zziwa Muvawela of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council disagreed and majority religious leaders, warning that it may discourage formal marriages, especially in Islam where marriage is considered a religious obligation.

For Nanyonga, who claims she used her savings and family contributions to purchase the land, the ruling provides long-awaited recognition of her efforts. It’s important to note that a lot of couples in the country cohabit for so many years even till death does them apart.

However, women have been isolated for so long after separation leaving them wandering about aimlessly after giving years of their lives to their respective men.

Therefore with this precedent, Uganda’s courts have opened a new pathway for thousands of cohabiting couples to claim property rights. And in doing so, this is going to reshape family law in a society where informal unions are increasingly common.