MPs call for amendment of proposed succession law

Mr William Byaruhanga, the AG

What you need to know:

  • Proposal. The Bill, among others seeks to amend the Succession Act, Cap 162, to bring it to conformity with the Constitution, to refine the definition of customary heir and heiress to eliminate discrimination, to repeal unconstitutional provisions, to provide for gender equality and to protect principle residential of the surviving spouse and lineal dependents.

Members of Parliament (MP’s) under the auspices of the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA), have endorsed the proposed Succession Amendment Bill, 2018, saying the current Succession Ordinance of 1906, which was adopted from the English law is archaic and discriminatory in nature and must be overhauled.
The Bill is currently before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs’ Committee of the House for scrutiny.

The legislators and other stakeholders during a two-day lobby meeting on the Succession Amendment Bill held in Kampala at the weekend, disregarded the Attorney General’s (AG) proposal that the Bill be shelved until government tables before Parliament a comprehensive property related Bills in two weeks’ time.

Mr William Byaruhanga, the AG, had said the movers of the Bill did not seek his position and that of the the Auditor General, the implementing agencies, before the Bill was tabled before Parliament.
“While we all agree in principle that the current law is archaic and must be overhauled, the AG should just propose amendments to the Succession Amendment Bill before the Legal committee. MPs have the mandate to table any Bills they deem relevant before Parliament,” said Ms Monica Amoding, the Kumi District woman MP, who is also a former UWOPA chairperson.

MP Richard Muhumuza Gafabusa, the Bwamba County MP, said while they recognise the AG’s proposal, the committee should not be stopped from scrutinising the Bill.
In support of the Bill, the Ajuri County MP, Mr Dennis Hamson Obua, said the country has over the years undergone a significant social economic development which has rendered some provisions of the Bill obsolete, archaic and unconstitutional.
“The current law is outdated and cannot address some of the current challenges. It also has some discriminatory provisions on the basis of sex,” he said.

In the law for instance, a male heir is preferred to a female heir on the basis of sex and this is discriminatory according to the MP.
Ms Santa Okot (Pader Woman MP called for amendment of the proposed distribution of the deceased’s property where the spouse is entitled to 50 per cent share, dependents, nine per cent while the lineal dependents, 41 per cent of the property.
“Giving a spouse 50 per cent of the property is subject to abuse. Some spouses might take advantage of the deceased’s property in case they have been married say for two years,” Ms Okot said.