Church leaders have opposed the marriage and divorce bill of 2009 saying its provisions will erode the fundamental core values of marriage institution if enacted into a law.

Stephen Langa

The leader of religious groups who presented their the memorandum to the parliamentary legal and affairs committee are particularly concerned that the bill caters Christian Hindus and customary marriages but does not provide marriages under the Islamic faith.

The Uganda law commission two years ago decided to split the Demotic Relations bill into two parts so as to provide for a separate marriage and divorce law for Muslims.

The executive director of the family life network Stephen Langa says making a separate law for Muslims amounts to creating national religion which contravenes the constitution of the republic of Uganda (1995) as amended.

By Mugisa Isaac Mathias