TAKEAWAYS

• Gashumba wants parents to stop putting young men under financial pressure over bride price.
• He says the happiness and future of the couple should matter more than household items brought during marriage negotiations.
• He also disagreed with the idea of looking down on men who still live in rented homes, saying many people build their lives gradually.

Businessman Frank Gashumba has weighed in on the growing debate around bride price, urging parents to stop putting young men under pressure to provide expensive items before marrying their daughters.

Gashumba said the focus should not be on how much money or property a man can bring to the family, but rather on whether the couple is happy and ready to build a life together.

“Parents, let me tell you, stop putting these kids on pressure for bride price. If a boy comes to marry your daughter, don’t try to force them into something they can’t afford,” Gashumba said.

He argued that demanding expensive household items does not necessarily add value to a marriage, especially when parents already have most of those things in their homes.

“In fact, let me tell you, if they bring you tanks, chairs, TVs, cookers, that’s despising your family. Now me as Gashumba, what are you going to bring me that will make me appreciate?” he said.

Gashumba explained that he would rather see a young couple start their marriage without unnecessary financial pressure.

“The chairs I have in my house and tables were bought in 2011 for over 30 million, so what will you give me? All I want is that these two individuals are happy in their marriage. I don’t want every phone call from them to be of trouble but rather good news,” he added.

Gashumba also commented on recent remarks by Susan Makula, wife of Pastor Aloysius Bujjingo, who recently questioned why women should cry over men who are still renting.

Makula later clarified that her message was about encouraging women to build better futures and not simply condemning people who rent.

Gashumba, however, said he disagreed with the original message, arguing that many people in happy marriages once started life in rented accommodation.

He pointed to President Yoweri Museveni’s early struggles as an example, referencing Museveni’s autobiography Sowing the Mustard Seed, which documents periods of financial hardship in his early life.

For Gashumba, therefore, renting should not automatically be viewed as a sign that a man is incapable of building a successful marriage. He said people can start with little and gradually build their lives together.