A Critical Analysis Of The Law On Intestate Succession And Its Effectiveness In Protecting Women And Children Rights, A Case Study Of Koboko District

ABSTRACT

Intestate succession is defined as a means by which the estate of a person who died intestate (without a will) are shared among the beneficiaries. Since time immemorial, the affairs of the family in the African setup including but not limited to succession are determined by customs and traditions. In Uganda there is no exception to that and therefore intestate succession has been, is still and will probably be govemed by customs despite the legal framework that govems it. This is mainly due to the fact that customs are allowed as pat1 of our laws, however this does not I should not mean discriminative cultnres are encouraged or allowed to apply. A host of these cultures are so strict and discriminative against women and as a result they are always deprived ofprope11y of an intestate deceased person. This all happens because cultures I customs dictate that women don't have proprietary rights as such they are often denied inheritance of properly from their deceased parents and husbands. This trend not only deprives women of prope11y but rather it also ensures that some women are abused especially widows when they try to inherit prope11y of their intestate husbands. Cases of women sent out of matrimonial Homes are very common in Uganda especially in mral Uganda where women do not often know their rights. This problem is perpetrated by lack of awareness among people for the importance and the need to have /write wills as a result most Ugandans die intestate and this comes with its associated evils like women property deprivation. In addition to the above, the weak or rather inadequate legal framework governing succession in Uganda greatly contributes to the abuse on women in regard to property inheritance. Coupled with that is the weak enforcement mechanism by the authorities who are empowered to enforce the law, the mechanism is so weak that it needs urgent redress. The research established overall that the above reasons contribute greatly to the denial or ratherbabuse of women's rights to prope11y despite the same being protected by the various laws in place.