Wakilii

In Re Ekisa Alice & Bizigo Jamil (Family Cause No. 053 of 2016)

High Court · [2018] UGHCFD 11 · 2018 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ex parte application for intercountry adoption of two Ugandan children by foreign nationals resident in Uganda
Decision
Adoption order granted; children legally adopted by petitioners with authority to travel abroad

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Court granted an intercountry adoption order to Canadian and American petitioners who had fostered two Ugandan children for over three years. Court waived the requirement for a recommendation from the petitioners' home countries, finding that assessments by Ugandan probation officers and social workers were sufficient given the petitioners' extended residence in Uganda. Held that the children, whose biological mother is mentally ill and fathers unknown, required care and protection, and that adoption by the petitioners was in their best interests under the welfare principle in Section 3 of the Children Amendment Act 2016.

Outcome

Adoption order granted; children legally adopted by petitioners with authority to travel abroad

Facts

Two Ugandan male children, Bizigo Jamil (born 2008) and Ekisa Grace (born 2011), were born to Namuli Nassolo, a minor suffering from epilepsy and mental illness. The children's fathers are unknown. The biological mother was referred to Ekisa Ministries International, a non-governmental organization, where she delivered Grace. She was later discharged after sexually abusing Grace and returned to her grandmother's care in Kangulumira. The first petitioner, employed by Ekisa as community care outreach coordinator, developed an attachment to the children. She married the second petitioner in December 2014. Together they were assessed and approved as foster parents by Ekisa and the National Alternative Care Panel in July 2015. The children were placed in their care in September 2015. The Jinja-Kagoma Family and Children Court issued Care Orders in September 2016. The petitioners, a Canadian and American national respectively, have resided in Uganda for over three years and seek to adopt both children. Efforts to locate the biological fathers through newspaper advertisements and radio announcements were unsuccessful. The biological mother remains under psychiatric care at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital.

Issues

  1. Whether the children are suitable candidates for an adoption order.
  2. Whether the petitioners qualify to be adoptive parents under the Children Amendment Act 2016.
  3. Whether the statutory requirement for a recommendation from the petitioners' home countries (Canada and USA) can be waived.
  4. Whether the application is in the best interests of the children.

Orders

  • The petitioners Alicia Anna Christine Van Huizen Shinska and Ryan Christopher Shinska are granted an order of adoption in respect of the children Ekisa Grace and Bizigo Jamil.
  • The petitioners shall be issued with official birth certificates for both children by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).
  • The petitioners may travel with the children to Canada, the United States of America, or any other country of their choice in order to fulfill their obligations as adoptive parents.
  • The Registrar of Births and Deaths shall make an entry recording this adoption in the Adopted Children Register.
  • This adoption shall be furnished to the consular department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Kampala and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in Kampala.
  • The petitioners shall meet the costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Adoption — Intercountry Adoption — Welfare Principle — Paramountcy
The welfare of the child is of paramount consideration in all adoption proceedings. When determining whether to grant an adoption order, the court must consider all relevant facts, relationships, claims, wishes of parents, risks, choices, and other circumstances, and follow the course that is most in the interest of the child.
Adoption — Intercountry Adoption — Exceptional Circumstances — Non-Citizen Adopters
A non-citizen of Uganda may adopt a Ugandan child only in exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances may include cases where the child's biological parent is incapable of providing care due to mental illness, the child's conception resulted from sexual violence, and no suitable alternative care within Uganda is available.
Adoption — Intercountry Adoption — Home Country Recommendation — Waiver
The court has discretion under Section 46(14) of the Children Amendment Act 2016 to waive the requirement for a recommendation from the adopter's home country. Where foreign applicants have resided in Uganda for a considerable period (three to four years) under the supervision of local probation officers and have been assessed by national bodies, that waiver may be granted if local assessments provide a more current and accurate evaluation of their suitability than a report from their country of origin would provide.
Adoption — Parental Consent — Waiver Due to Incapacity
Where a biological parent is mentally ill and receiving psychiatric treatment, the court may dispense with that parent's consent to adoption on the ground that the parent is incapable of giving informed consent. Where the biological fathers are unknown and do not respond to public notices, consent may also be dispensed with.
Adoption — Best Interests Assessment — Factors to Consider
In determining whether adoption is in the best interests of a child under Section 3(3) of the Children Amendment Act 2016, the court must consider: the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child; the child's physical, emotional, and educational needs; the child's age, sex, background, and other relevant circumstances; any harm the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering; and the capacity of the child's parents, guardians, or others to meet the child's needs.
Adoption — Substitute Care — Hierarchy of Alternatives
Adoption should be the last recourse for children. Under Section 46(6) and (7) of the Children Amendment Act 2016, the court must consider a continuum of comprehensive child welfare services including family preservation, kinship care, foster care, and institutionalization before resorting to adoption. Where these alternatives have been exhausted or are unsuitable, adoption may be appropriate.
Adoption — Cultural and Biological Connections — Preservation
Where adoptive parents intend to remain in Uganda for an extended period, the court may encourage them to maintain the adopted children's relationship with their biological family and cultural background. This ensures that children remain grounded in their ethnic and cultural heritage while benefiting from adoption into a stable home.

Legislation cited (11)

  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.3
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.3(3)
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.4
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.46
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.46(5)
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.46(6)
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.46(7)
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.46(14)
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.46(b)
  • Children Amendment Act 2016 s.46(c)
  • Judicature Act

Cases cited (5)

  • In the matter of David Twesigye (HCMA No. 0004 of 2008)
  • JVC [1970] AC 668
  • Deborah Alitubeera (Civil Appeal No. 70 of 2011)
  • Re AM (Adoption Cause No. 12 of 2017)
  • In the matter of Debra Grace (Misc Cause No. 54 of 2016)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

In Re_ Ekisa Alice & Bizigo Jamil (Family Cause No. 053 of 2016) [2018] UGHCFD 11 (24 August 2018)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.