When Love meets law, should teenage romance be a crime?
The conversation ignited last week as Paul Mukiibi, Head of the Department of Law Reporting, Research and Law Reform at the Law Development Centre (LDC), appeared before the Joint Committee of Legal and Gender Affairs.
It starts with butterflies in the stomach, secret glances, and nervous text messages. But in Uganda, where the law is clear-cut on age and consent, teenage love stories risk ending in handcuffs and a court trial.
Now, a bold proposal seeks to draw a line between young love and criminal offense, urging Parliament to exempt close-age relationships from being classified as defilement.
The conversation ignited last week as Paul Mukiibi, Head of the Department of Law Reporting, Research and Law Reform at the Law Development Centre (LDC), appeared before the Joint Committee of Legal and Gender Affairs.
Speaking on the contentious Sexual Offences Bill, 2024, tabled by Soroti District Woman MP Anna Adeke, Mukiibi argued for a redefined approach to adolescent relationships.
“The Bill’s defilement provisions would intentionally criminalize consenting relationships between adolescents close in age, potentially impacting their future,” Mukiibi emphasized. “We’ve seen court cases where judges ruled that consensual sexual relationships between 16- and 17-year-olds or 15- and 16-year-olds shouldn’t be criminalized. We need an age-appropriate clause to separate exploitative cases from consensual ones.”
Currently, Uganda’s Penal Code Act criminalizes any sexual relations with individuals under 18, irrespective of consent. Convictions carry a heavy penalty: up to 18 years in prison. Mukiibi warns that this legal blanket ignores the complexities of teenage relationships, potentially labeling young lovers as criminals and derailing their futures.
“We aren’t advocating for a free-for-all,” Mukiibi clarified. “What we’re proposing is a ‘close-in-age’ exception—where the age difference between the parties is minimal and the relationship is consensual. This would distinguish between actual exploitation and mutual teenage romance.”
Voices of the Youth
But what do the teenagers themselves think? In Kampala’s bustling downtown, opinions are mixed.
“I think it’s unfair,” says Lydia Namaganda, a 17-year-old student. “We aren’t children forever. Sometimes, you meet someone your age, and its real love. How is that a crime?”
Her friend, Mark Ssentongo, 16, agrees but offers a caution. “There’s a difference between love and being pressured. Some of us are still figuring things out. But if both people are close in age, I don’t think prison should be the answer.”
On the other hand, 18-year-old university freshman, Joan Nanyonga, believes the law plays a protective role. “Some relationships are healthy, but others lead to teenage pregnancies and school dropouts. Maybe instead of jail, we should focus on counseling and awareness.”
A Balancing Act
Experts like youth rights activist Dr. Sarah Atwine suggest a more balanced approach. “We need to acknowledge that adolescents are exploring relationships. Criminalization is a blunt tool. Instead, we could look at education programs that teach consent, boundaries, and reproductive health,” she says.
Atwine also underscores the need for legal safeguards to prevent predators from exploiting loopholes in the law. “The challenge is ensuring that any amendment to the law doesn’t open doors for exploitation by older individuals,” she adds.
In the same meeting Mukiibi also warned Parliament against criminalizing prostitution arguing that provisions targeting prostitution and brothels risk criminalizing individuals who engage in sex work out of economic necessity, adding that without addressing the root causes of their vulnerability, these clauses may disproportionately disadvantage vulnerable population rather than offer immediate support.
He said, “Address social-economic factors on provisions of sex work. Unless we address the cause, I don’t think practically, legislation is going to stop sex work. It will not be a very practical tool if you don’t address the social facts and that means, we still have a vulnerable group that will face arrests on a daily basis, without addressing the social factors to that.”
As the Sexual Offences Bill, 2024 inches its way through Parliament, it’s clear that the debate on teenage relationships is far from over. Advocates for reform hope for a law that protects minors from exploitation while acknowledging that not every teenage relationship is a crime.
For now, teenagers like Lydia and Mark remain caught between love and the law, hoping for a future where their relationships are seen for what they are—sometimes innocent, sometimes complicated, but not always criminal.
Will Parliament listen? Only time will tell. Until then, the question remains: When does teenage love stop being a matter of the heart and start being a matter for the courts?
