Rwanda’s Chief Justice, Domitilla Mukantaganzwa, has said divorce should generally be a last resort, but may be the best option when persistent marital conflict threatens the wellbeing of spouses and children.
Mukantaganzwa made the remarks during a media briefing on the 2026/27 judicial year, amid a sharp rise in divorce cases before Rwanda’s courts.
Judiciary figures show that courts handled 6,799 divorce-related cases during the 2025/26 judicial year, making divorce cases the most prevalent among those brought before the courts. The figure was nearly three times higher than the previous year.
Mukantaganzwa urged couples and their families to make greater efforts to resolve marital disputes before they escalate to litigation.
However, she said there are circumstances in which separation can prevent more serious harm, particularly where continued conflict exposes spouses or children to violence, emotional distress or a persistently hostile home environment.
“Sometimes separation is the solution, rather than having people kill each other, having someone die of grief, or having children constantly witness harmful behaviour as their parents fail to get along,” she said.
The Chief Justice cautioned against viewing the rise in divorce cases as evidence that most Rwandan marriages are failing, noting that many couples continue to maintain stable marriages for decades.
Figures from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) show that 4,479 divorces were registered through civil registration in 2025. Of these, 2,629 involved couples who had obtained divorce through the courts.
Mukantaganzwa also noted that marital breakdown is not limited to young couples, saying some couples who have spent many years together eventually bring their disputes before the courts.
She further pointed out that divorce does not always mean the permanent end of a relationship, as some former spouses reconcile years after separating.
“I want to emphasize that it is not necessarily the end. People who divorce can still reconcile. I know people who got back together after 10 or even 20 years, and that is not unusual,” she said.
Mukantaganzwa also explained that court statistics do not necessarily correspond to the number of individual couples seeking divorce, as one case can result in multiple proceedings through appeals or disputes involving property and other issues arising from the separation.
