Kole residents to 'punish' pro-Marriage bill MPs

By Bonney Odongo & Paul Watala

Residents of Kole district have vowed not to vote for any legislator, who supports the contentious Marriage and Divorce Bill come 2016.

The weekend consultation meeting started on a chaotic note as residents refused to listen to the Bill being read to them by the Woman MP Ruth Acheng.

Kole MPs Fred Ebil and Acheng were told that the traditional marriage system be maintained.

The residents said issues like marital rape in the draft Bill are poisonous and would be very hard to prove in court.

Teddy Adong of Alito sub-county, argued that in African tradition, romance between a woman and man is characterised by some kind of resistance by a woman and that does not mean that the woman is being raped.

“As a leader, I am saying we reject the Bill in totality and would like to suggest that it is given a decent political burial by our Members of Parliament,” said Ceaser Alaju, the LC3 chairperson of Bala sub-county.

He added that MPs should not allow this kind of Bill to surface in Parliament. He said they should instead focus on oil, recovery in the war-torn areas and fighting poverty.

Beatrice Akite, a resident of Ward B in Kole town council said MPs should focus on fighting corruption and passing tough laws against it.

She said other issues that should be tackled in Parliament incude homicide.

Addressing the residents after their submission, MP Ebil said since his people have rejected the Bill, he would follow their interest and oppose it in Parliament.

“I am not going to support this Bill because it looks like some people among us the Members of Parliament are being influenced by some external forces to mislead our country,” Ebil said.

He said contrary to the Christian doctrine that says that when man and woman join together as wife and husband, nobody should separate them; the proposed Bill encourages divorce.

Sironko women warn MPs

Meanwhile, women in Budadiri West in Sironko district have warned female legislators against pushing for the endorsement of the Marriage and Divorce Bill as it infringes on their bedroom rights.

“Our husbands do not need to seek permission from Parliament and Police to have sex. The country has got more burning issues ranging from payment of salaries of civil servants than our bedroom affairs,” Juliet Namono observed.

The women gave the warning on Monday during a consultative meeting on the controversial Bill at Bugusege trading centre. The meeting was called by the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Nathan Nandala Mafabi.

Namono said their objection to the Bill is not aimed at failing women to have their rights as far as sex is concerned, but a need to retain the sanctity of sex.

“Before this Bill was tabled in Parliament, couples were using clan local leaders, but not the Police and Parliament.” We have been managing our bedroom affairs without their intervention.”

“What we want are laws, which will empower us economically,” Namono said.