- Thursday becomes a day of victory for women in Uganda after the Constitutional Court in the capital Kampala quashed a law they claim discriminates married men and women. The court ruled that cheating is no longer a criminal offence in Uganda.
"From today, the laws are null and void. They have been inconsistent with the constitution of Uganda," read a judgment by a panel of judges.
With effect, any spouse that catches his/her partner committing adultery can either seek redress for compensation or file a divorce. This implies that the police do not have the powers to arrest or imprison anybody for committing adultery in the country.
The Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda challenged the marriage laws at the Constitutional Courts last year, arguing that they were unfair to both women and men.
The women activists have been crying foul that the laws penalise adulterous married women while allowing married men to go scot-free with similar crimes. Uganda’s marriage laws do not punish unmarried men and women who commit sex with married men or women. .
While women activists see the scrap as a victory for justice, the Attorney General said it will succeed in encouraging immorality and promiscuity.
Activist lawyers also called for the amendment of certain sections of the Succession Act, which unequally share the wealth of spouses when they die. This law permits a husband to take all the assets or wealth of his dead wife but is not the case when it is otherwise.
The law allows a father to choose a carer for his child after death, which disqualifies the widow’s right to own him/her.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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