MPs lobby for Ugandan men to marry Indians
Fred Opolot Pingire County MP
The Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Indian Affairs has asked the Indian community to allow Ugandan men also to marry Indian women so as to deepen the relationship between the two countries.
Speaking at the launch of the forum last week, Mr Fred Opolot, the chairperson, who is also the Pingire County Member of Parliament, said he has observed that Indian men are marrying Ugandan women but it’s not the same with Ugandan men.
“I know people to people integration has happened over generations, especially through business and investment. May I urge colleagues in the Indian fraternity to allow some of us or some of our children to get married to some of the beautiful Indian ladies?” he said.
Mr Opolot said historical relations between Uganda and India span over a century with the arrival of the more than 30,000 Indians to construct the Mombasa-Kampala railway line.
He said the independence struggle in India inspired the counterparts in Uganda to fight against British colonisation.
Asked whether this is acceptable to the Indians, Mr Trushar Upadhyay, who coordinated the establishment of the forum together with Rajesh Chaplot, the former chairman of Indian Association of Uganda, said in Kenya, the men are already marrying Indian women but the marriages do not last due to the difference in culture.
Buhweju County MP Francis Mwijukye and ICT and National Guidance Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi, welcomed the proposal.
Minister Baryomunsi said there is no law that prohibits anyone from marrying whoever they wish and therefore, establishing intermarriages between Indians and Ugandans does not require parliamentary intervention.
Speaking at the same event, Mr Ajay Kumar, the Indian High Commissioner to Uganda, revealed that the Indian government has established a low interest line of credit, which government should take advantage of to promote investments and infrastructure development in the country.
