Rwanda: divorce

Divorce

Chapter XII of Law No 71/2024 provides two roads to divorce, the claim on grounds and the joint application by mutual consent, and Chapter XIII adds legal separation, which lifts the duty of cohabitation without dissolving the marriage. A claim for divorce is filed before the competent court of the spouses' last matrimonial home, of the defendant's domicile, residence or elected domicile, or of the plaintiff's domicile or residence at the time of filing (Art. 249). The Law sets no minimum length of marriage before a petition and treats mediation as a choice that family members make by mutual agreement (Art. 8).

Article 248(1) lets either spouse claim divorce for: adultery; desertion of the matrimonial home without justification for at least 12 consecutive months; a conviction for an offence severely damaging reputation; refusal to provide for household expenses; physical, psychological or emotional violence, economic harm or grossly abusive conduct against the claimant, a common child or a child of either spouse; gender-based violence; de facto separation of at least two years; non-cohabitation for more than six consecutive months from the wedding without valid grounds; and cohabitation made impossible by irreconcilable differences. A spouse who leaves after mistreatment is not treated as having deserted the home if the nearest local administration was informed beforehand and a record was drawn (Art. 248(2)). The action is barred five years after the ground is discovered (Art. 250(2)) and follows ordinary proceedings; a criminal case does not suspend it, unless the prosecuted offence is itself the ground, in which case the action waits for the final criminal judgment (Art. 251).

At any stage the judge may take provisional measures on the parties, the children or the property (Art. 253), grant provisional custody to either spouse or a third party and fix each spouse's contribution to maintenance (Art. 254), and, on an ex parte application, order a spouse out of the matrimonial home or allow one to leave it, the spouse with provisional custody staying in the home (Art. 255). Assets are provisionally shared after a signed inventory unless the spouses are under separation of property (Art. 256), and these orders are enforced despite an appeal unless that would harm the children's best interests (Art. 257). A child's testimony is taken into account, but that of a child under 14 must be supported by other evidence (Art. 252).

Divorce by mutual consent is applied for jointly after the spouses agree on the dissolution and on its effects on the children and the property; they first make a written inventory with values and shares, and file a notarised deed settling custody, each spouse's contribution to the children's upkeep and education, each one's residence during the proceedings and any alimony (Arts. 258 to 260). Both appear in court and need not give a reason (Art. 262); the court grants the divorce if it is satisfied that consent is free and the children's best interests are safeguarded (Art. 263), and a refusal can be appealed only by both spouses together (Art. 264). A claim brought by one spouse becomes a consent divorce if the respondent agrees and the spouses submit such an agreement (Art. 258(2)).

Between the spouses the divorce takes effect from the filing of the first claim, and towards other parties from the day the judgment becomes final (Art. 267); the divorcees themselves notify the civil registrar of the place of marriage within two months of finality (Art. 265). Custody goes to the spouse who obtains the divorce, the other keeps the right to visit and talk to the children, and the court, after hearing the child, may entrust him or her to the other spouse or a third person, or order shared custody; those orders are provisional and can be revoked (Art. 269). Both parents keep the right to supervise upkeep and education and must contribute alimony in proportion to their means (Art. 270). Property follows the regime (Art. 268), and legal separation, granted on the same grounds, can be converted into divorce after two years (Arts. 274 to 277).

Under Article 10 of the Abunzi law (Law No 37/2016), the Cell-level Abunzi committee decides family issues other than those requiring a decision on civil status, so a divorce goes to the courts rather than to the committees. On 8 December 2025 Chief Justice Domitilla Mukantaganzwa said that bringing mediation into divorce cases was 'not performing well' and that reconciliation more often comes from family and close friends; the annual judicial report counted 2,674 divorce cases in 2024/25, against 2,833 in 2023/24 and 3,075 in 2022/23.

Key points

In practice

• If you agree on the divorce, draw up the written inventory of your property with values and shares (Art. 259), have the agreement on custody, child maintenance, residence and alimony notarised (Art. 260), and file the joint application under the ordinary civil procedure (Art. 261); both of you must come to the hearing.
• If you do not agree, file within five years of discovering the ground and be ready to prove one of the nine grounds of Article 248. If you left the home after mistreatment, inform the nearest local administration beforehand so that a record is drawn up, otherwise the departure can be treated as desertion (Art. 248(2)).
• Ask at once for provisional measures: custody and maintenance of the children (Art. 254), separate residence by an ex parte application (Art. 255), and provisional division of assets with an inventory (Art. 256).
• Within two months after the judgment becomes final, notify the civil registrar of the place where you married (Art. 265); a divorce certificate, record or extract is later required to marry again (Art. 200(3)).

Cost and coverage

No court filing-fee schedule for divorce was found in the sources opened for this page; the mutual-consent route also needs a notarised deed (Art. 260), for which no tariff was found either.

Where to go

• The competent court of the spouses' last matrimonial home, of the defendant's domicile or residence, or of the plaintiff's (Art. 249).
• A notary, for the deed settling custody, upkeep, residence and alimony in a divorce by mutual consent (Art. 260).
• The nearest local administration, for the record that protects a spouse who leaves after mistreatment (Art. 248(2)).
• The civil registrar of the place where the marriage was celebrated, to enter the divorce in the register of divorce records (Art. 265).

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Law No 71/2024 of 26/06/2024 governing persons and family, Official Gazette n° Special of 30/07/2024 -- English text (copy published by the National Identification Agency) — Arts. 8, 200, 248 to 277 as published in the Gazette of 30 July 2024
• Law No 37/2016 of 08/09/2016 determining organisation, jurisdiction, competence and functioning of an Abunzi Committee, Official Gazette n° 37bis of 12/09/2016 (Ministry of Justice copy) — Art. 10: competence of the Cell Abunzi committee in civil matters, including family issues other than civil status
• Law No 020/2020 of 19/11/2020 amending Law No 37/2016 (Abunzi committees; composition and term of office only), Official Gazette Special of 20/11/2020 -- Ministry of Justice copy — 2020 amendment concerns the composition and term of the committees only
• NISR (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda), Marriage & Divorce Statistics -- Factsheet 2025 (published 2026) — 4,479 divorces recorded and 2,629 granted in 2025; duration and age patterns
• The New Times via allAfrica, "Rwanda: Divorce Cases Remain Challenging for Mediation - Chief Justice" (8 December 2025) — Chief Justice's statement of 8 December 2025 and the annual judicial report's divorce case counts

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