Namibian protesters demand citizenship for twins born to gay couple

Namibians are protesting today demanding that government grants citizenship to twins belonging to a gay couple.

According to a local news portal, The Namibian, a crowd of close to 100 people gathered at the home affairs ministry’s head office in Windhoek to demand that the children of the couple Phillip Lühl and Guillermo Delgado are given citizenship rights.

The couple recently had twin girls born through surrogacy in neighbouring South Africa.

The group, led by activist Omar Van Reenen, are demanding that the ministry should grant the couple’s newborn twins citizenship rights as one father, Phillip Lühl, is a Namibian citizen.

Also today, a high court is to decide whether the the father can return to the country with his kids.

Lühl insists his girls are stateless as a result of the Ministry’s refusal to issue emergency travel documents for them last week. The Ministry has asked him to prove that the kids were his.

Under South Africa’s surrogacy laws, a child born to a surrogate mother takes the citizenship of its parents.

A decision he deems discriminatory and solely arising from his same-sex orientation.

Namibian laws are against same-sex relationships unlike South African. According to South African laws, the children have been granted birth certificates recognising Mr Lühl and his Mexican husband, Guillermo Delgado, as parents.