What next after you catch them pants down?

By John Semakula

Abudallah Kazibwe, 50, may not be able to produce children again. The truck driver’s genitals were mutilated after he was reportedly found with another man’s wife.

Habib of Lubiri village in Pakwach allegedly caught him red-handed with his wife Irene. But Kazibwe is lucky to be alive. Henry Keemo, 27, who was a bodaboda cyclist at Seeta stage in Mukono district, was recently killed by his wife after she found him with another woman.

Juliet Jadida, 24, stabbed him twice in the neck These are just examples of violence associated with infidelity. The media carries a story of domestic violence almost on a daily basis.

Is it because Section 154 of the Penal Code, which declared adultery criminal and prescribed a fine for it, was recently declared null and void by the Constitutional Court?

The Law Advocacy for Women in Uganda, a group that challenged Section 154, argued that it did not treat men and women the same, contrary to the constitutional requirement that everybody is equal before the law.

According to the Penal Code, it was adultery if a married woman had an affair, but married men could have affairs as long as it was not with another married woman.

Court ruled that the provision was not consistent with the Constitution of Uganda and was scrapped in 2007.

Three years later, the section has not been amended and therefore, no one can file a successful case on adultery in a criminal court and win.

Moreover, adds Samuel Kiriaghe of Matsiko and Co. Advocates, the penalty prescribed under Section 154 was meaningless. “The penalty for adultery must be amended as well to reduce related crimes,” he said. “There is no motivation for people to take the suspects to the authorities, that is why many have resorted to killing or hurting.”

The law prescribed sh2,000 as fine for conviction of adultery. Mukono District Police commander, Aliphonse Musoni advise people not to take the law into their hands regardless of the anger adultery may have evoke in them.

Asked what people should do now that there is no law, he said: “If your partner has committed adultery, seek redress in the civil courts like LCs.

“These institutions are respected in society. They will help you seek compensation other than killing the trespasser and landing into trouble yourself.”

He also suggests that a suspect can be charged with elopement if he or she has taken a spouse from you. “People should still report to Police,” he says.

Church leaders agree with him. There are many other ways of dealing with the crime which are in line with the law.

Fr. Paul Ssebitogo of Lugazi Diocese says people need to emulate the life of Jesus Christ. “Do you remember the woman who was about to be stoned for committing adultery and was saved by Jesus? He set a precedent. Caution and forgive your partner; it works better than violence,” he said.

Ssebitogo says married people should respect their partners by not exposing them to ridicule even in a worst case scenario like adultery.

“Get a trusted person, like a Church leader or elder and brief him about the incident and get counselling,” he said.

The priest advises that after you have forgiven your adulterous partner, go for a health check up where you do not only test for HIV but other sexually transmitted infections as well.

And should you find your partner HIV positive, help them to live positively. do not turn violent or chase them away. “The Church encourages separation but never divorce.”

By separation, the priest explains, you can live in the same house, but in different rooms and stop having sex. That would help you to look after the children together.

Canon Elisha Mbonigaba of the Anglican Church agrees that adulterers should be punished, but encourage counselling after the punishment.

“Communities should come out with an established system of dealing with the suspects which would be appreciated by all the parties.” However, Imam Muhammad Gwamba will not hear any of this.

“Adulterers should be killed,” he says, “but it should be done after the suspect is convicted under Islamic laws.”

According to the Sharia, if four witnesses testify against an adulterer in an Islamic Court and he or she is convicted, they have to die.

However, the Imam understands that since Uganda is not operating under the Sharia, the marriage can end instead of forcing aggrieved parties to stay together.

Counsellors say the problem is people do not want to seek guidance while dealing with issues like suspicion and revenge.

Counselling can help reduce the temper and anger that may cause the aggrieved person to resort to hurting his partner. Rita Zawedde, a counsellor at Uganda Christian University Mukono, says an aggrieved partner is confronted by many options from one extreme, to another.

“As a counsellor, I help them to seek the best option which would not harm the partner, or even their children,” she said Dr. Anthony Konde, the deputy director of health services in Mukono, says: “I would advise the complaining partner to go to a counsellor because the effects of adultery are mostly psychological.”