Members\nof Parliament have rejected a move by Manjiya County MP, Hon. John Baptist\nNambeshe, to introduce a Private Member\u2019s Bill that aims to regulate religious\norganisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nambeshe\nsaid the bill titled the Religious Organisations Bill, 2019, seeks to have all\nreligious organisations registered and established under one regulatory\nauthority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nambeshe\nmoved the motion seeking leave of Parliament during the House sitting on\nWednesday, 30 January 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\nsaid that the policies that govern and regulate religious organisations are\nnumerous and scattered in various legislations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe\nlaws that regulate religious sects like the Constitution of Uganda 1995, Church\nof England Trustees Act and the Non-Governmental Organisational Act 2016 among\nothers do not provide a uniform mechanism of monitoring religious\norganisations,\u201d Nambeshe added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nambeshe\nsaid that there ought to be a regulatory framework to make sure that religious\norganizations only set up in gazetted areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\nis common to find religious sects operating in residential areas and other\nnoise sensitive areas causing discomfort to people,\u201d he said, adding that,\n\u201cthere should be permits issued for places of worship\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nOkin P.P. Ojara (Indep, Chua West) said MPs ought to be mindful of the\nmisleading religious sects and called for their regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nneed to remind ourselves of the incident in Kanungu in 2001 where a man called\nKibwetere, operating a religious sect, burnt people to death in church; these\nare circumstances that need to be curbed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However,\na section of MPs disagreed with the movers of the motion arguing that it was\ninfringing on the rights of worship among the citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nJennifer Nantume (NRM, Buvuma Islands County) noted that the proposed bureau\ncharged with regulating religion would be infringing on right to freedom of\nworship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nhave diverse cultures and a strong base of traditional beliefs that vary. This\nwould be difficult to regulate because of the unique beliefs of the various\ngroups,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\nsaid that the issue of worship is an individual conviction and a constitutional\nmatter as long as it does not infringe on other people’s rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hon.\nMilly Mugeni (NRM, Butaleja District) said that the country has a registration\nbureau, which oversees religious sects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\nwould be duplicating agencies handling the same issue if we allowed this law\nthat calls for the formation of another bureau to handle religion,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mugeni\nalso warned that religion is a sensitive matter that needs countrywide\nconsultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\nencourage Hon Nambeshe to consult widely before any move is made on this matter\nbecause people have varying views and we run a risk of being misunderstood as\ntheir representatives,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, deferred a vote on the motion due to lack of quorum as there were only 112 MPs present in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parliament.go.ug<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Members of Parliament have rejected a move by Manjiya County MP, Hon. John Baptist Nambeshe, to introduce a Private Member\u2019s Bill that aims to regulate religious organisations. Nambeshe said the bill titled the Religious Organisations Bill, 2019, seeks to have all religious organisations registered and established under one regulatory authority. Nambeshe moved the motion seeking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":7898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-7897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"yoast_head":"\n