UGANDA: Museveni writes to MPs on marriage Bill

By MERCY NALUGO.

Ruling party MPs have received a briefing paper from State House outlining President Museveni’s views on some of the controversial clauses in the Marriage and Divorce Bill.

In the undated 21-page paper, the President rejects the provisions on property sharing after divorce and takes aim at middle class women whom he said have turned the institution of marriage into a business.

“I do not want women who pollute our women emancipation movement by introducing elements of mercenarism in marriages. Why do people get married - because of property or what?,” he wrote. “People, especially the middle class, should marry because of love, companionship, having children in order to perpetuate humanity and okwombeka (to create a home with property).”

He observes that the family must be “life long -till death do us part”, further noting that “failed marriages leading into divorce should be the rare exceptions and not the norm.”

“Mixing up domestic chores with property claims is stretching the argument too far…The greatest point in all this is not to antagonise our pre-capitalist traditional societies with ultra–modern liberal ideas of the elite,” he said.

The President criticises Parliament for adopting the provision which forbids refund of bride price before he was consulted.

“… when it comes to return of gifts, it was wrong and reckless of the Constitutional Court to have outlawed the practice,” he said, arguing that it’s at odds with traditional African practices.

The President supports the clause on marital rape but warns that it would attract litigation “for which we have no witnesses ... Besides, some of the cultures involve pre-sex struggles.”

On cohabitation, he instead encourages couples to legalise their unions through civil registration.

He also objected to the Bill’s title and suggested that it be called the Marriage Bill.

He said marriage must be conducted with the consent of parents. The proposed law makes it optional to consult the parents.

The President concurred with the legislators on the grounds for petitioning for divorce, saying the weighing scale for wrongdoing should be the same.

Parliament reconvenes on April 2 from recess.

Source: Daily Monitor (22/03/2013): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Museveni-writes-to-MPs-on-marriage-Bill/-/688334/1727076/-/3jhay7z/-/index.html