VZCZCXRO0356
PP RUEHJO
DE RUEHMB #0059/01 0401515
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091515Z FEB 10 ZES ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY MBABANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3917
INFO RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 2795
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 0433

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MBABANE 000059 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y - TEXT 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/OCS/CI (SHAFFER); CA/OCS/ACS (RAUGUST) 
JOHANNESBURG FOR RCO KENT MAY 
 
E.O. 12356: N/A 
TAGS: CASC KOCI PREL PGOV SOCI WZ
SUBJECT:  SWAZILAND'S STALLED INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTIONS 
 
REF:  MBABANE 0052 
 
MBABANE 00000059  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) On February 8, Ambassador Irving and ConOff Murphy met with 
Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Themba Masuku, Principal Secretary (PS) 
Khangeziwe Mabuza, Director of Social Work (DSW) Eric Maziya, Senior 
Social Worker Vierah Hlatshwayo, and the three Prospective Adoptive 
Parents (PAPs) to discuss the stalled inter-country adoption cases 
detailed in reftel.  Despite the fact that the three families came 
to Swaziland three months ago to finalize their adoptions, the 
adoptable status of the children still is in question and the cases 
are at a standstill.  DPM Masuku requested to meet personally with 
the families and reiterated his regret and embarrassment for the 
stalled cases.  He vowed to assign top priority to the resolution of 
each case, based on respective details and legal considerations. END 
SUMMARY 
 
THE STALLED CASES 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Melanie Fullingim arrived in Swaziland on November 19, 2009 
to adopt three older orphaned siblings who had been living in the 
Manzini Halfway House for the past two years.  At that time, Mrs. 
Fullingim was informed that the children were abandoned by their 
abusive father and their mother was unknown, so there was no 
question regarding their orphan status.  The father even provided 
written consent to turn the children over to DSW.  In Monday's 
meeting, the DPM indicated that the father recently claimed he did 
not understand he was consenting to inter-country adoption.  Rather, 
the biological father claimed he intended to turn them over to be 
wards of the state, which would feed, clothe, and educate them and 
allow him biennial paternal visits.  The father further objected to 
the children's surname being changed from Dlamini under any 
circumstances.  Reportedly, the birth mother has resurfaced after 
years of unknown whereabouts, and claims to have an interest in the 
children, although has expressed no interest in taking custody and 
long-term care.  Until the facts of the case, particularly the 
mother's intentions, were fully known the DPM explained his hands 
were tied and the adoption case could not proceed. 
 
¶3. (U) John Messerly arrived in Swaziland per [EMI2]on November 23, 
2009 to adopt two unrelated orphaned children who had been living at 
the ABC Ministries for over a year.  The court case for the daughter 
was completed a week ago, but the son's case was declined[EMI3] by 
the High Court pending written consent from either birth parent, who 
are missing in South Africa.  Before inviting Mr. Messerly to 
Swaziland, DSW conducted an exhaustive search, including the 
required newspaper and radio ads, for any relative to claim the 
children, and no one came forward.  It is unclear why the court is 
again questioning the orphan status of the child[EMI4].  In the time 
that Mr. Messerly's case has been languishing in the courts, a 
paternal grand-aunt has come forward to claim an interest in seeing 
the child, although has expressed no interest in taking custody and 
long-term care.  The DPM congratulated Mr. Messerly on the 
successful adoption of his daughter, and promised to see through the 
case of the little boy to closure. 
 
¶4. (U) Dr. Nilou Ataie arrived in Swaziland on January 16, 2010 to 
adopt an infant child whose birth mother specifically requested that 
her unborn child be placed immediately after birth with a PAP rather 
than be put in an institution.  Although DSW approved this 
arrangement in advance of Dr. Ataie's arrival in Swaziland, the 
department reneged on the agreement and placed the newborn in 
Manzini Halfway House, which is not equipped to care for infants. 
Dr. Ataie has received no word as to when she will be granted 
custody of the child, although she has been funding all of the 
baby's material needs.  As it turns out, the consenting birth mother 
is South African and the father is unknown but assumed to be South 
African, so the child has no right to Swazi citizenship under Swazi 
law.  This means DSW cannot process the child's adoption without a 
legal opinion, and may have to deport the infant and transfer him 
custody of the child to South Africa's already overburdened social 
welfare system. 
 
DECISION OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The DPM spoke with Embassy officials and the PAPs for over 
two hours, conveying genuine concern for the financial hardship and 
emotional turmoil being endured by the U.S. families.  He indicated 
that his subordinates did not properly inform him of the cases until 
several weeks into the process, and it only now came to his 
attention that the orphans' adoptive status was not exhaustively 
investigated nor all remote eventualities considered.  Masuku said 
he needed to personally and carefully review each pending case and 
consult with higher authorities, such as the Attorney General in the 
Swazi citizenship case, to determine a way forward. 
 
 
MBABANE 00000059  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) When given the opportunity to speak, the PAPs conveyed a 
respect for the Swazi system and an understanding that children 
should be with responsible biological family members, when possible. 
 They diplomatically resigned themselves to the decision of DSW and 
the High Courts, although all underscored the permanent emotional 
scars this systematic oversight, which allowed them to bond as a 
family for over two months, would have on the Swazi orphans and 
their American families. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In conclusion, DPM Masuku committed to resolving the cases 
on a priority basis.  He maintained that the internal working of DSW 
was flawed and needed to be improved before they could accept any 
additional inter-country adoption cases. 
 
IRVING