Gay parents' twins finally allowed to enter Namibia

After a legal battle, Namibia has issued travel documents to twin infant daughters of a gay couple who were born in South Africa to a surrogate mother.

Maya and Paula were born in March in Durban to architect parents Phillip Lühl, 38-year-old Namibian, and Guillermo Delgado, a 36-year-old Mexcian.

It comes after a Namibian court first rejected the couple's request and demanded genetic proof that Lühl was the farther.

But a new minister appointed in April studied the court documents and "authorised the issuance of emergency travel certificates applied for", the AFP news agency reports.

This is "a very positive step," said Lühl.

"We are obviously very satisfied, but also puzzled that so much brawl and resources, and such emotional tension are necessary for a simple bureaucratic decision."

In Namibia, homosexuality is still illegal, although in practice the 1927 law is rarely enforced today.

The two were married in South Africa in December 2014, but the Namibian Interior Ministry does not recognise their union.

On the South African twins' birth certificates, the couple is listed as the parents.

South Africa is since 2006 the only African country to allow same-sex marriage.