Wakilii

In the matter for a petition for adoption by Lazarean Liliana [2026] UGHCFD 86

High Court · 2026 Petition Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Petition for inter-country adoption at first instance (second petition in respect of the same child)
Decision
Petition succeeded; adoption order granted in favour of the Petitioner and the biological father's consent dispensed with

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held it had jurisdiction over this inter-country adoption under s.86(1)(b) of the Children Act, the applicant being a US citizen and the child a Ugandan. It found the Petitioner qualified: the age gap satisfied s.87(1)(a); the special-circumstances requirement of s.87(3) for a sole female applicant of a male child was met by her being his sole continuous caregiver since infancy with no alternative placement; residence and fostering under s.88(1) were satisfied; and the s.88(6) last-resort requirement was satisfied through the National Alternative Care Panel's clearance. The untraceable father's consent was dispensed with under s.90 after documented tracing efforts, and the mother had consented. The adoption served the child's welfare. Petition granted.

Outcome

Petition succeeded; adoption order granted in favour of the Petitioner and the biological father's consent dispensed with

Facts

Andrew Noah, a male Ugandan child born on 26 August 2017, was cared for by the Petitioner, Lazarean Liliana, a US citizen and nurse, from the age of six days. His mother left him in the Petitioner's custody at five months when she moved for employment, and he has remained there continuously for over eight years. A foster care order was granted to the Petitioner by the Chief Magistrate's Court of Kabale in 2018. The biological father abandoned the mother before the birth and, despite tracing efforts through relatives and a newspaper advertisement in November 2025, remained untraceable. The biological mother, now remarried, gave written, corroborated consent to the adoption. The Petitioner, resident in Uganda since 2017 and founder of an NGO in Kabale, presented a certificate of good conduct, financial statements, references, and was recommended as a fit adoptive parent following presentation before the National Alternative Care Panel on 30 April 2025. She had previously and unsuccessfully petitioned to adopt the same child in 2019, a history she disclosed.

Issues

  1. Whether the High Court is seized with jurisdiction to entertain the adoption petition.
  2. Whether the Petitioner qualifies to be appointed the adoptive parent of the child.
  3. Whether the adoption is in the best interests of the child.

Orders

  • An adoption order is granted in favour of the Petitioner, Lazarean Liliana, in respect of the child Andrew Noah.
  • The requirement of the consent of the child's biological father is dispensed with, he having remained untraceable despite reasonable efforts.
  • The Registrar General of Births and Deaths, the National Identification and Registration Authority, and the Minister responsible for Children Affairs shall each make the appropriate entry recording the order in the Children's Register.
  • A certified copy of the order shall be furnished to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • The Petitioner is permitted to travel with and reside with the child, Andrew Noah, in the United States of America or elsewhere.
  • Costs shall be provided for by the Petitioner.

Rules and key headnotes

Family Law — Adoption — Inter-country Adoption — Jurisdiction of the High Court
Where the applicant for an adoption order is not a citizen of Uganda, jurisdiction to entertain the application lies with the High Court under section 86(1)(b) of the Children Act.
Family Law — Adoption — Sole Female Applicant for a Male Child — Special Circumstances under s.87(3)
An adoption order in favour of a sole female applicant in respect of a male child requires proof of special and exceptional circumstances, which are established where the applicant has been the child's only continuous caregiver for substantially the whole of his conscious life and no alternative placement with a parent or relative exists.
Family Law — Adoption — Inter-country Adoption — Home-Country Suitability Recommendation under s.88(1)(d)
The requirement under s.88(1)(d) of a suitability recommendation from the applicant's home-country welfare authority is not dispensable, but may be accepted in substance where prolonged local probation supervision has already exhaustively assessed the applicant's conduct with the child.
Family Law — Adoption — Inter-country Adoption as Last Resort under s.88(6)
The last-resort requirement of s.88(6) is satisfied where the National Alternative Care Panel, exercising its designated gatekeeping mandate, has cleared the child for inter-country placement and the record identifies no domestic relative as a prospective alternative carer.
Family Law — Adoption — Dispensing with Parental Consent under s.90
The consent of an untraceable parent may be dispensed with where reasonable and documented efforts to trace that parent, including newspaper advertisement and inquiries through relatives and local authorities, have been made and have failed.
Family Law — Adoption — Welfare Principle under s.91(1)(b)
The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in adoption and is to be understood in its widest sense — moral, emotional and physical — and is not measured by material comfort alone.

Legislation cited (14)

Cases cited (3)

  • Nakaggwa v Kigundu (1978) HCB 310
  • Re McGrath (Infants) [1893] 1 Ch 143
  • Adoption Cause No. 0002 of 2019

Full judgment

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

In the matter for a petition for adoption by Lazarean Liliana [2026] UGHCFD 86 (9 July 2026)
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.