When two adults decide to live or work together, it is out of choice as no force has been used. They do so with the full knowledge that it is best for them and no one has any right to interfere. It was quite a surprise when the Mayor of Musanze was reported to have given unmarried couples an ultimatum to regularize their unions. He even threw in threats of punishment in case they failed to do so. The local administration has no right to interfere in cohabiting adult couples. It is an infringement on their private lives because they decided to do so by consent. Musanze District has more important problems to deal with than carrying out a census of unofficial reunions. It is true that one of the major causes of domestic conflicts is illegalized marriages, especially when it comes to inheritance or other legal instruments. Some men just perform the customary dowry payment ceremony (Gusaba) and skip the official civil and church ceremonies due to financial constraints. Traditionally, that kind of union is legal as both families were in accord and so it is not for a third to say otherwise. Maybe what the Mayor of Musanze could have done was to sensitise residents on the benefits of legal unions and potential problems that could arise, not threats or orders. That is the difference between rulers (Abategetsi) form of governance that we inherited from the previous regime, unlike the current crop of leaders (Abayobozi) who work in tandem with those they lead. Archaic methods of work have no room in today’s Rwanda and the kinds of decisions such as the Musanze orders have far more repercussions and reverberations that go beyond the district’s borders.
