PERSONS IN UGANDA

1.3.2 Laws on Legal recognition and Registration of individuals and
organisations
Laws governing legal recognition and registration of persons have a huge bearing on
LGBTI persons. These are:
The Births and Deaths Registration Act Cap 309
This is the law that governs recognition of persons in Uganda. It governs registration
of Births and Deaths in Uganda. It has provisions that affect the enjoyment of rights
of LGBTI persons that include provisions on change of name and change of sex. The
most relevant provisions are:
Change of name of adults and children
Section 12
(1) Any person, being over the age of twenty-one years or a widower, widow,
divorced person or a married person, who wishes to change his or her name
shall cause to be published in the Gazette a notice in the prescribed form of his
or her intention to do so.
(2) Not less than seven days after the publication of the notice, the person intending
to change his or her name may apply in the prescribed form to the registrar of
the births and deaths registration district in which his or her birth is registered.
(3) The registrar shall, upon being satisfied that the requirements of this section
have been carried out and upon payment of the prescribed fee, amend the
register accordingly and shall sign and date the amendment.
Section 13
(1) The parents or guardian of any child under the age of twenty-one years who is
not married, divorced, a widower or a widow may apply in the prescribed form
to the registrar of the births and deaths registration district in which the birth
of the child is registered to change the name of the child.
(2) The registrar shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, amend the register
accordingly and shall sign and date the amendment.
These provisions govern the change of name for adults above the age of 21 and those
below the age of 21. They are important to LGBTI persons especially to transgender
and intersex persons who may wish to change their names to reflect their preferred
sex or gender. However, the problem is that the provisions consider 21 years of age
as the age of majority and yet the Constitution and Section 2 of the Children’s Act
Cap 59 put it at 18 years. Therefore a person who has made 18 years but who has not
yet made 21 cannot change their name except through the parents. Considering that
most transgender persons always get into trouble with their parents and many are
usually disowned or alienated by their families, requiring them to change their names
through their parents is something that would be difficult for them.
The provisions are also unconstitutional since the age of majority under the
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