The High Court has lambasted the Registrar officials for refusing issue 2 children with birth certificates and for demanding DNA paternity tests.
Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo, has strongly condemned officials at the Registrar General’s Office for assuming unauthorized powers not granted by law.
The judge also criticized the officials for imposing burdensome requirements on parents seeking birth certificates for their minor children.
Judge Justice Moyo’s stance comes after Registrar General Henry Machiri had refused to issue birth certificates to two children aged 12 and 10 years.
Henry Machiri’s refusal to issue birth certificates to the two girls was based on the argument that their mother, who was still legally married to her estranged husband, had entered into a relationship with another man after her husband left her and went to the UK two decades ago. She gave birth to her two children whilst she was in a relationship with another man.
The Registrar General’s Office demanded that the mother first provides them with a disclaimer affidavit from the estranged husband disowning the girls, along with DNA test results from their biological father.
The mother decided to engage Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to assist her as her children had endured statelessness for more than a decade.
ZLHR lawyers, Jabulani Mhlanga and Prisca Dube, petitioned the High Court, arguing that the Registrar General’s actions violated constitutional rights to identity and perpetuated statelessness.
High Court Judge Lambasts Registrar Officials for Denying Birth Registrations
High Court Judge Justice Moyo, presiding over the case, mandated the Registrar to register and provide birth certificates to the two children within seven days.
In her verdict, Justice Moyo criticized the Registrar General’s Office for denying birth registrations without valid reasons, which she deemed unconstitutional and contributing to statelessness.
She rebuked registrar officials for assuming unauthorized powers and imposing burdensome requirements on parents seeking birth certificates for their children.
Stressing the importance of the right to a birth certificate, she emphasized that it should not be arbitrarily denied, highlighting the Registrar’s duty to facilitate the process.
Resolving Statelessness: Issuance of Birth Certificates
On April 22, lawyers Mhlanga & Dube accompanied the minors’ parents to the Bulawayo District Registrar’s Office with the necessary documents and court order, following a call from Bulawayo Provincial Registrar Jane Peters.
As a result, the two children were finally issued their birth certificates.
Source iHarare
