Re In The Matter Of Mugume Reagan (child) (Family Cause No. 204 of 2010)

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

Holding

Application granted. The court appointed two United States citizens as legal guardians of an 11-year-old Ugandan child and permitted them to travel outside Uganda with the child. The court was satisfied that the applicants were suitable guardians based on their financial stability, clean background checks, and prior support of the child, and that the appointment was in the child's best interests. The child's biological mother, father, and paternal aunt all consented to the application.

Outcome

Legal guardianship granted with permission to travel outside Uganda; ongoing reporting requirements imposed

Facts

Mugume Reagan was born on 25 January 1999 to Namirimu Betty and Kwesiga Harrison. His mother became bedridden for approximately three years with no reliable income, leading the child to resort to street life in Kampala for survival. His father had separated from the mother and abandoned them. In April 2006, Bosco Segawa found the child on the street and provided shelter through his organisation, Ms Music Life Skills and Destitute Alleviation. In February 2010, the applicants, who are American citizens and sponsors of the organisation, learned of the child's situation and began providing for his basic needs and education. The child was studying at Silver Spoon Primary School in Primary Five. The applicants, married since 1993 with two biological daughters, are financially stable with gross annual income exceeding USD 500,000. An international adoptive home study found no history of child abuse, domestic violence, or substance abuse, and revealed no criminal record. The biological mother, father, and paternal aunt all consented to the guardianship application.

Issues

1. Whether the applicants should be appointed as legal guardians of Mugume Reagan.
2. Whether the applicants should be permitted to travel outside Uganda with the child.

Orders

• Application by Michael Patton Rice and Cassandra Lyn Rice to be appointed Legal Guardians of Mugume Reagan granted.
• The appointed Legal guardians are permitted to travel out of Uganda with the child in order to fulfill their obligations as Legal guardians.
• The applicants are ordered to submit a report as to the state and welfare of the child to the Registrar Family Division of High Court of Uganda every six months until the Child is 18 years old or until directed otherwise.
• The applicants will pay the costs of the application.

Legislation cited (13)

• Civil Procedure Act s.98
• Civil Procedure Rules Order 48 rules 1 and 2
• Constitution of Uganda Article 139(1)
• Constitution of Uganda Article 34(1)
• Constitution of Uganda Article 34(2)
• Judicature Act s.14
• Judicature Act s.33
• Judicature Act s.35
• Judicature Act s.39
• Children's Act s.3
• Children's Act s.4
• Children's Act s.5
• Children's Act s.6

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