URN.The Bill seeks to provide a stringent, and comprehensive legislation on matters relating to marriage and will repeal some provisions of the current Marriage Act that was enacted 118 years ago has never been amended.
Parliament has granted leave to Sarah Achieng Opendi, the Tororo District Woman Member of Parliament to introduce, the Marriage Bill.
The Bill seeks to provide stringent, and comprehensive legislation on matters relating to marriage and will repeal some provisions of the current Marriage Act that was enacted 118 years ago and has never been amended.
Opendi observed that over time, the laws regulating different types of marriage in Uganda have become outdated in light of the Constitution, Government policies, and international best practices that have also evolved.
According to Opendi, bridal gifts as one critical area that the bill will redefine. The bill recognizes marriage gifts but proposes that gifts should not be among the requirements for marriage. As such, the proposed law criminalizes a spouse who demands a refund of gifts with a penalty of not less than 12 months’ imprisonment.
Opendi says this will go a long way in protecting the rights of women in marriage, noting that often times, the women have been ill-treated on the basis of bridal gifts, and sharing of property in cases of divorce.
Jacob Oboth-Oboth, the Minister of State for Defence and Veteran Affairs, noted that the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of the 10th Parliament, which he chaired, processed 22 clauses of the Bill during the Committee stage. He advised Opendi to build on the work already done on the Marriage and Divorce Bill.
Margaret Muhanga, the State Minister of Health said the revision in Bill’s title was informed by religious leaders who found legislation on divorce ridiculous. “We are a Christian country – the churches complained that we are legislating for divorce ‘as if you marry to divorce,” Muhanga said.
The proposed Marriage Bill mentions that a spouse can only apply for divorce after two years from the date of marriage. It also has provisions on the distribution of properties within a monogamous and polygamous marriage, separating the matrimonial property from the individual property.
The Bill also guides that spouses should make an agreement on property owned by both and those individually owned. If a spouse acquired property before or during marriage and the property does not fall within the matrimonial property but his or her spouse makes a contribution towards the improvement of that property, be it monetary or in kind, the spouse without the interest shall acquire a beneficial interest equivalent to the contribution she or he made.
The Bill also states that in case of a polygamous marriage, matrimonial property acquired by the husband and the first wife shall be owned in common, and the subsequent wives will only take interest in the husband’s share of the matrimonial property.
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled, in a majority judgment of 6:1, that the traditional custom and practice of demanding a refund of the bride price if a marriage breaks down is unconstitutional and “dehumanizing to women”.
