Police should not arrest adulterers

Apr 10, 2006

A diplomatic crisis has erupted between Rwanda and Uganda following the arrest of a Rwandan diplomat last weekend in Entebbe. First Secretary John Ngarambe was found in a hotel room with Joyce Ngaiza, the wife of Edmond Rugunda who had complained to the police that she was committing adultery. Polic

A diplomatic crisis has erupted between Rwanda and Uganda following the arrest of a Rwandan diplomat last weekend in Entebbe. First Secretary John Ngarambe was found in a hotel room with Joyce Ngaiza, the wife of Edmond Rugunda who had complained to the police that she was committing adultery. Police arrested Ngarambe but released him after he explained that he was a diplomat with immunity from prosecution.
It is a criminal offence for a married woman to sleep with a man other than her husband (although it is not a crime for a husband to betray his wife, unless it is with another married woman).
The Rwandan government is angry and insists that the police must have known beforehand that Ngarambe was a diplomat. Kigali has requested the Ugandan First Secretary to leave Kigali within 48 hours.
Whether Ngarambe’s arrest was a deliberate snub or an innocent mistake, it is an archaic law that criminalises private consensual relations between two individuals.
Whatever happened in Entebbe between Ngarambe and Ngaiza was their personal affair and should not have been interrupted by the police.
Obviously monogamy is a moral ideal which all couples should strive to uphold. A loving faithful relationship is ultimately more rewarding for both the husband and wife, and provides a healthier environment in which children can mature to adulthood. However many couples fail to remain monogamous, even couples with a partner in government or the police.

Often there are attempts at reconciliation, with family members acting as intermediaries. Sometimes the couples argue and confront each other. Sometimes marriages irretrievably break down and end in divorce. But whatever the consequence of adultery, it should not result in a criminal prosecution by the police.
The police should ignore the outdated and discriminatory law on adultery. They have more important things to do with their limited resources than to start hunting down adulterers.

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