Wakilii

In Re Isingoma,Katusiime,Nyakato[children] (Family Causes 144, 145 & 146 of 2013)

High Court · [2013] UGHCFD 25 · 2013 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ex parte applications for legal guardianship under the Children Act consolidated by court order
Decision
Applicants appointed legal guardians of the three children with responsibility for their care and custody

Observed later treatment

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Holding

Held that the High Court has jurisdiction under Article 139(1) of the Constitution and section 98 of the Civil Procedure Act to grant guardianship orders. Foreign nationals who meet the requirements of legal guardianship may be appointed as legal guardians where the children are abandoned and no relatives are able to care for them. Guardianship granted where it is in the best interests of abandoned siblings to grow up together in a permanent home with persons ready to provide physical, social, and spiritual care.

Outcome

Applicants appointed legal guardians of the three children with responsibility for their care and custody

Facts

Three children — Isingoma Emmanuel, Katusiime Grace, and Nyakato Evas (two of whom were twins) — were abandoned by their parents in a rented house at Mwitanzige trading centre. Local council executives and police rescued the children and placed them at Kakindu Health Centre 4 for treatment. They were subsequently cared for by the vice chairperson of the area before being placed with Oasis Children's Home under a care order obtained by the probation and social welfare officer. The Children's Home located the children's paternal aunt, Evas Kunihira, who stated she was not in position to care for them. Efforts to locate the parents through radio announcements and other searches yielded no results. The applicants, Marshall Pierre Lim and Raffaella Maria Marcantonio, American citizens and spouses with one biological child, learned of the children through Americans for African Adoptions and Oasis Children's Home and expressed willingness to take the three siblings into their care.

Issues

  1. Whether the High Court is seized with jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
  2. Whether the applicants qualify to be appointed the legal guardians of the three children.
  3. Whether the application is made in the best interests of the three children.
  4. Whether the applicants can be permitted to migrate with the three children to the USA.

Orders

  • The applicants are appointed legal guardians of Isingoma Emmanuel, Katusiime Grace and Nyakato Evas.
  • The applicants are charged with the responsibility of taking up the three children into their personal care and custody and provide for their physical, social and spiritual needs and generally look after them as guardians.
  • The legal guardians are directed to obtain a Ugandan passport for the three children using their current names.
  • The legal guardians shall submit once a year, photographs and a report on the state of health, progress and welfare of the three children to the Registrar, Family Division of the High Court of Uganda at Kampala until each of them attains 18 years of age or until directed otherwise.
  • The Registrar of the High Court shall furnish a copy of the orders in this ruling, together with the address of the legal guardians in USA to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda at Kampala; the Embassy of USA in Kampala; the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs of Uganda; and Family Connections Inc.
  • The legal guardians shall immediately communicate any changes of addresses to the authorities mentioned above.
  • Costs of this application will be met by the applicants.

Rules and key headnotes

Legal Guardianship — Jurisdiction of High Court — Inherent Powers
The High Court has jurisdiction under Article 139(1) of the Constitution and section 14 of the Judicature Act to grant guardianship orders even where the Children Act does not specifically provide for such orders, and may invoke its inherent powers under section 98 of the Civil Procedure Act to grant remedies where there are no specific statutory provisions.
Legal Guardianship — Definition and Requirements — In Loco Parentis
A guardian under the Children Act is a person having parental responsibility for a child and must be ready to place himself or herself in loco parentis for purposes of the child's care and welfare, have the child in his or her charge and actually look after it, exercise powers of control over the child, ensure that the child's physical well-being is cared for and its legal rights protected, and be a person who can reasonably be expected to take whatever action may be necessary or desirable on behalf of the child.
Legal Guardianship — Foreign Nationals as Guardians — Eligibility
Non-Ugandan citizens may be appointed as legal guardians of Ugandan children where they meet the requirements of legal guardianship, including financial stability, good health, absence of criminal record, and demonstrated readiness to provide for the children's physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Legal Guardianship — Best Interests of the Child — Abandoned Children
Where children have been abandoned by their biological parents and no relatives are in a position to look after them, it is in the best interests of the children to grant guardianship to suitable applicants who can provide a permanent home, particularly where the children are siblings and the guardianship order enables them to grow up together under one roof.
Legal Guardianship — Best Interests Principle — Constitutional and Statutory Basis
In all matters concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration as mandated by Article 34 of the Constitution, the Children Act, and international conventions ratified by Uganda concerning the rights of children.
Consolidation of Applications — Effect on Prayers and Grounds
Where applications are consolidated by court order, counsel must restrict submissions to the prayers and grounds set out in the consolidated applications and may not introduce new prayers or grounds that do not appear in the applications or supporting affidavits, as such new matters would render the application counsel's own rather than the applicants'.

Legislation cited (15)

Cases cited (1)

  • In Re Nabyama Moses alias Nabyama Abasa (Family Cause No. 76 of 2011)

Full judgment

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

In Re_ Isingoma,Katusiime,Nyakato[children] (Family Causes 144, 145 & 146 of 2013) [2013] UGHCFD 25 (20 December 2013)
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.