A man in Kitgum has been sentenced to one-month of community service by the Magistrates’ Court after he allegedly threatened his uncle’s widow for objecting to his advances to inherit her.
Court presided over by the Grade one magistrate Paul Obuya heard that Denis Omara 29, a resident of Tangi Agoro village, in Kitgum district tried to forcefully inherit the 34-year-old widow Betty Aloyo.
Magistrate Obuya, in his ruling, said since Omara has been very remorseful throughout the trail and has been on remand for four months, community service was enough sentence for him.
The community services will be done within the court premises for two hours daily.
He warned the convicts to refrain himself from forcefully trying to inherit his late uncle’s wife saying any future act will lead him to get harsh conviction from the court
Police had earlier preferred a case of threatening violence and threatening to cause the body harm.
A source close to the family disclosed that Omara had for long been telling some of his family members and friends of his desire to inherit his late uncle’s wife.
According to the UN, Socio-cultural practices like widow inheritance and polygamy have remained an obstacle to the goal of Uganda’s 2013-2020 HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan which is Zero HIV/ AIDS-related mortality and morbidity. “Widow Inheritance also renders widows powerless in communities thus at risk of losing their property like land to their in-laws,” the UN report adds.
