Namibians have severely criticised the undiplomatic stance by British High Commissioner to Namibia Charles Moore in a controversial comment he made on Twitter regarding the granting of citizenship to a four-year-old child of a same-sex couple.

Rumours that he had been summoned by the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation were, however, denied by both Moore and the minister.

In a tweet on Monday, Moore said, “Hard to believe how much time, money and effort are being spent on actively preventing the granting of Namibian citizenship to a four-year-old child. What possible risk is there from showing compassion for one child?”

Moore’s comments have sparked outrage among Namibians, who accuse him of attempting to meddle in the affairs of another country.

Various replies to his tweet were less than polite, with many warning him not to meddle in Namibia’s internal affairs or interfere in the country’s institutions.

News anchor Jonas Mbambo said, “Please know your place and have respect for our institutions”.

Memory Harases said, “You ought to stay in your lane. The founders of colonialism, slavery and racism, who refuse to accommodate refugees in a problem they created ought to stay in their damn lane while my country upholds their sacred laws”. 

However, Moore deleted the tweet yesterday and in a reply to New Era’s request for comment, apologised.

“My post on Twitter was intended only to ask whether a young child could be granted citizenship, and not in any way to criticise the court ruling or interfere in Namibian internal affairs. I regret having given a different impression, and I have now deleted the post from my account.

The executive director of the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (MICT) Audrin Mathe, who spoke in his capacity, said it is not acceptable for an ambassador to exhibit such conduct on a foreign country’s laws.

“I am not saying I am against the right of the LGBTQI+ community, but my point is that he (Moore) is inciting people from Namibia are against the ruling of the Supreme Court. So, rather than encouraging people to oppose it, we should uphold the principle of the rule of law – even if it goes against our personal beliefs. It is not enough to praise the rule of law only when it benefits us. For instance, in the United Kingdom, polygamy is not allowed, so it would be inappropriate for him to impose certain moral standards on Namibia. Similarly, it is also inappropriate for us to question why polygamy is illegal in the UK,” he elaborated.

Mathe added, “Although we may also disagree with various policies and actions of the British government, we do not publicly question them while in the UK or when they are here. We are aware that they have established procedures – and once laws are passed, we show respect for them”.

The issue has brought to the forefront the sensitive topic of LGBTQI+ rights in Namibia, where homosexuality is widely frowned upon by many in society.

On Monday, the Supreme Court overturned the 2021 high court ruling that four-year-old Yona Delgado-Lühl was entitled to Namibian citizenship by descent.

The Namibian authorities had declined to grant the boy citizenship and demanded a DNA test to prove that one of the child’s parents is Namibian. 

In late 2021, a local court overturned the ministry of home affairs’ decision, granting the boy Namibian citizenship, based on the birth certificate. 

But the government appealed the decision, arguing the birth had not been registered with the Namibian authorities within a year as required by law.

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday the court had indeed “gone astray” in granting citizenship to the son of the homosexual couple.

“Since the birth was not registered in accordance with the Citizenship Act, the High Court was not competent to grant relief,” the court said. 

“The minister was right not to grant the minor child citizenship by descent,” it concluded.

Approached for a comment, minister of international relations Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said she is not aware of him being summoned.

“I am only hearing it now from you. I can’t confirm because I was out of the office for the independence celebration and the executive director too. Other executives, such as my deputy and deputy executive director, are also on a work mission abroad. So, who summoned him?” she questioned.

- ashikololo@nepc.com.na