Uganda To Update Scrapped Adultery Law

Uganda will replace a law banning adultery that was scrapped last week by a top court because it was unfair to women.

Uganda will replace a law banning adultery that was scrapped last week by a top court because it was unfair to women, state media said on Wednesday.

Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo said the new law would correct the imbalance that had penalised women, but not men, for having affairs. The government had been forced to act, he said, after the Constitutional Court struck down the old legislation.

"The government has no intention of keeping quiet about this important matter that has far-reaching implications, morally, spiritually, medically and economically," Buturo told reporters in remarks published by the state-owned New Vision newspaper.

He gave no details of the proposed new law, which must be approved by Uganda's cabinet and the east African nation's parliament.

The move by judges to scrap the adultery law drew criticism from some church leaders in the staunchly Christian nation. Under the old law, women faced a fine or up to a year in jail.