A Member of Parliament (MP) has left people horrified after saying men need to "discipline" and "beat" their wives.

The shocking comments came from Ugandan MP, Twinamasiko Onesimus, who represents Bugangaizi East Constituency when he was speaking to Ugandan television channel NTV.

"As a man, you need to discipline your wife," he told the channel. "You need to touch her a bit, you tackle her, beat her somehow to really streamline her."

It appears Mr Onesimus, who is married, was responding to comments made by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who said men who beat their wives or girlfriends were "cowards".

“Men who beat women are foolish and cowardly,” he told crowds gathered to mark International Women's Day, according to Ugandan Christian News.

The Daily Monitor newspaper reports more than one in five women aged 15-49 had experienced domestic or sexual violence in Uganda.