E Status, Rights and Treatment of Persons with Disabilities Within Customary Legal Frameworks in Uganda a Study of Mukono District
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9 Law African African Law 9 within Customarywithin Legal Frameworks in Uganda Disabilities with of Persons e Status, Rights and Treatment e Status, Rights and Treatment of Persons with Disabilities within Customary Legal Brian Dennison Frameworks in Uganda e Status, Rights and Little is known about the interaction of customary law and disability rights. is Treatment of Persons research based on a case study in Uganda o ers a window into how a customary legal frameworks can impact the status, rights and treatment of persons with with Disabilities within disabilities. Dr Dennison highlights the particular importance of cultural beliefs and attitudes about the capacity and functionality of persons with disabilities in informal legal settings. is is true in the Eastern African context of the Mukono Customary Legal District, in the Central Region of Uganda, but also more widely on the whole African continent. e work concludes by outlining practical change strategies for those Frameworks in Uganda seeking to improve the status, rights and treatment of persons with disabilities in settings where customary law plays an infl uential and e ectual role. A Study of Mukono District Brian Dennison serves as in-house legal counsel for the Brian Dennison Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (Georgia, USA) and is an Adjunct Professor with the Regent University Law School (Virginia Beach, Virginia USA). He is the former Acting Dean of the Uganda Christian University Faculty of Law where he served as a lecturer for seven years. He holds a PhD in Private Law from the University of Cape Town and Juris Doctorate from the University of Georgia (USA). Globethics.net The Status, Rights and Treatment of Persons with Disabilities within Customary Legal Frameworks in Uganda A Study of Mukono District The Status, Rights and Treatment of Persons with Disabilities within Customary Legal Frameworks in Uganda A Study of Mukono District David Brian Dennison Globethics.net African Law No. 9 Globethics.net African Law Series editor: Prof. Dr. Obiora Ike, Executive Director of Globethics.net in Geneva and Professor of Ethics at the Godfrey Okoye University Enugu/Nigeria. Globethics.net African Law 9 David Brian Dennison, The Status, Rights and Treatment of Persons with Disa- bilities within Customary Legal Frameworks in Uganda: A Study of Mukono District Geneva: Globethics.net, 2021 ISBN 978-2-88931-409-6 (online version) ISBN 978-2-88931-410-2 (print version) © 2021 Globethics.net Managing Editor: Ignace Haaz Assistant Editor: Nefti Bempong-Ahun Globethics.net International Secretariat 150 route de Ferney 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Website: www.globethics.net/publications Email: [email protected] All web links in this text have been verified as of March 2021. The electronic version of this book can be downloaded for free from the Globethics.net website: www.globethics.net. The electronic version of this book is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY- NC-ND 4.0). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. 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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction ................................................................. 11 Introduction ................................................................................... 11 The Research Problem ................................................................... 12 Justification of the Research .......................................................... 16 Objectives of the Thesis ................................................................ 20 Scope of the Thesis ........................................................................ 20 Research Question and Argument of the Thesis ............................ 27 Literature Review .......................................................................... 28 Research Methodology .................................................................. 38 Demographic Breakdown of Interview Phases .............................. 45 Limitation of the Study .................................................................. 49 Structure and Outline of the Thesis ............................................... 51 2 Disability: Movement, Theory and Cultural Context ................................................. 55 Introduction ................................................................................... 55 The Disability Movement .............................................................. 55 A Primer on Disability Theory ...................................................... 60 Culture and Disability in Sub-Saharan Africa ............................... 73 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 85 3 Discerning a Theoretical Approach for the Customary Law and Process Relevant to Persons with Disabilities in Mukono District ....... 87 Introduction ................................................................................... 87 Legal Pluralism .............................................................................. 88 Customary Law ............................................................................. 92 Conclusion ................................................................................... 107 4 A Critical Survey of Change Strategies for Improving the Status, Rights and Treatment of Persons with Disabilities in the Majority World Contexts .......................................................... 109 Introduction ................................................................................. 109 Top-Down Change Strategies ...................................................... 110 Bottom-Up Approaches to Change ............................................. 124 Formalism and Change in Baganda Customary Law .................. 140 Conclusion ................................................................................... 141 5 The Disability Legal and Policy Framework in Mukono District ..................................................... 143 Introduction ................................................................................. 143 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ........................................................................... 144 Disability Law and Policy in Uganda .......................................... 151 Survey of Key Areas of Baganda Law ........................................ 162 Conclusion ................................................................................... 175 6 Disability in Context: The Social Place of Human Impairment in Mukono District and Applied Analysis of Theoretical Approaches ......................... 179 Introduction ................................................................................. 179 Disability in Context in Mukono District .................................... 179 Disability Theory: Contextual Assessment ................................. 189 Conclusion ................................................................................... 196 7 Fieldwork Findings Concerning Selected Substantive Areas of Customary Law and Practice Relevant to the Rights, Status and Treatment of Persons with Disabilities in Mukono District ........................ 199 Introduction ................................................................................. 199 Marriage and Divorce .................................................................. 199 Clan Leadership ........................................................................... 206 Customary Guardianship ............................................................. 208 Succession ................................................................................... 212 Land Issues Excluding the Inheritance of Land .......................... 222 Conclusion ................................................................................... 225 8 Disability and Legal Development in Mukono: A Semi-Autonomous Field-Based Analysis and Applied Topical Assessments ............................ 227 Introduction ................................................................................. 227 The Legal Implications of Disability through the Lens of the Semi-Autonomous Social Field ......................................... 228 Assessment of Approaches to Effecting Change through Law and Legal Structures .................................................................... 242 Contextual and Research-Based Appraisal of the CRPD ............ 246 Comparing Gender with Disability in Customary Contexts ........ 249 Conclusion ................................................................................... 251 9 Conclusion .................................................................. 253 Introduction ................................................................................