The Windhoek High Court on Wednesday declared that the surrogate born child of Phillip Lühl and Guillermo Delgado who was born through surrogacy in South Africa in March 2019, is a Namibian citizen by descent.
The court ruling is seen as win for LGBTQIA+ rights in the Southern African country, where LGBTQIA+ persons still face discrimination based on their sexual orientation.
Judge Thomas Masuku in his ruling on Wednesday ordered the minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security to issue a certificate of Namibian citizenship to the couple’s son, according to news website The Namibian.com.
Furthermore, the Judge also dismissed the counter application brought by the ministry of home affairs that a paternity test was needed to prove Lühl’s biological relationship to his son.
The home affairs ministry has been ordered to pay the costs of the case and has to issue the boy’s papers within 30 days, according to Windhoek Express.
According to local media, Lühl, who is a born Namibian, is reflected on the boy’s birth certificate as one of his parents, with the Mexican-born Delgado reflected as the second parent, the home affairs ministry has been refusing to acknowledge that the boy is a Namibian citizen by descent.
Lühl and Delgado got married in South Africa in 2014.
South Africa is the sole African country to legalise same-sex marriage, a law the country passed in 2006.
Furthermore, in May, the high court in Windhoek reserved judgment on whether same sex marriages concluded in other countries are recognised in Namibia or not.
The court reserved judgement after hearing oral arguments on two cases in which the government was being sued to have same-sex marriages concluded in other countries recognised in Namibia.
Source : African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Naomi