Uganda: Clerics lobby for passing of ‘Administration of Muslim Personal Law’ Bill

 

Uganda Muslim Supreme Council has called on Parliament to expeditiously cause the tabling of the Administration of Muslim Personal Law Bill, aimed at adjudicating over matters related to the practice of the Islam faith in Uganda.

The Council led by the Deputy Secretary General, Muhammad Ali, expressed concern that government has for the past 30 years failed to deliver on the legislation promised at the enactment of Article129 (1)(d) of the Constitution.

According to the article, government is indebted to among others, establish Khadi courts to deal with issues related to marriage, divorce, inheritance and custody for persons professing the Mohammedan faith.

“UMSC requests government to fulfill its constitutional mandate by enacting relevant laws to bring in force Article 129(1)(d) of the constitution. The desire for the implementation of Muslim Personal Law is not a demand that Muslims should be treated differently from other people in Uganda, rather that government lives up to its mandate in guaranteeing freedom of religion,” said Sirajeh Mukasa, the Chief Executive Officer, Uganda Muslim Lawyers Association.

Mukasa spoke on behalf of the Council and noted that there is already a draft of the Bill written in 2008, pledging the Council’s support to any private member willing to table the Bill in Parliament.

“Please ask us we will give you support, we have members with a degree of laws and a degree in Sharia, we will provide all the support. I think this committee has tasked Hon. Basalirwa to move a private member’s Bill, we need a sponsor,” Mukasa said.

He submitted UMSC’s views on the Marriage Bill, 2024 before the joint meeting of the Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development and the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on Thursday, 13 February 2025.

The Chairman of the Technical Committee on drafting of the Muslim Personal Law Bill at UMSC, Muhammad Ssewaya explained how his team has been engaged in numerous discussions about the Bill without actions on the side of government to table the Bill.

“UMSC was tasked by the Uganda Law Reform Commission to establish the law and we named the bill Administration of Muslim Personal Law. We presented the draft in 2008 but in 2010 we were called by the Uganda Law Reform Commission to contribute to the Khadi Bill, which did not provide all the ingredients of article 129 as it was more on marriage lacking provisions on succession and guardianship,” said Ssewaga.

Bugiri Municipality MP, Hon. Asuman Basalirwa, who also chaired the meeting reiterated that Muslim MPs have since the 10th Parliament pushed for the Bill, but could not introduce it to Parliament as a private member’s Bill because of it its financial implications.

“We could not introduce a private member’s Bill because of the financial implications, it would require government to recruit judges to administer the Khadi courts if you are to put them there, that is why the plea should be to government and in my view, it should be collective efforts,” said Basalirwa.

He castigated government saying there is simply lack of political will to enact the law. “The only issue is government has no political will to operationalise this law, it is not that there is lack of information, it is not that we have not consulted,” said Basalirwa.

Basalirwa said he recently tasked the Prime Minister to update Parliament on government’s plans for the long agitated for Bill and that he expected the premier to soon address Parliament.

The Workers’ MP, Hon. Charles Bakkabulindi, said the proposals of the UMSC sounded legitimate for even non-Muslim legislators and pledged to support a private member’s Bill to address their concerns.

Oyam District Woman MP, Hon. Santa Alum, commended the Muslims for presenting a harmonised position on the way Muslim marriages should be conducted, saying the Christian witnesses other hand presented varying and conflicting ideas on Christian marriages.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.