President Reagan's Daughter Adopts Ugandan

By John Kakande MAUREEN Reagan, a daughter to former US President Ronald Reagan, has adopted a 16-year- old Ugandan orphan, Margaret Rita Mirembe. Ms Reagan and her husband, Dennis Revell, with assets worth about US$2m, have no children. Reagan is convalescing at home with cancer, according to a report by the US House sub-committee on Immigration and Claims. The adoption of Mirembe is being processed through a private Bill in the US Congress sponsored by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas, in accordance with the American immigration law. The Bill seeks to grant Mirembe permanent residence in the US. The US House committee report said Mirembe is currently in the US on a student visa. It said Ms Reagan and her husband were supporting the Daughters of Charity orphanages when they decided to adopt Mirembe. Mirembe was reportedly "abandoned in Kampala at about the age of two and was raised in an orphanage until February 12, 1994, when the interested parties were granted custody as her guardians." "After being informed of the near impossibility of adopting Rita due to Ugandan law, it was arranged to bring Rita to the US on a student visa instead," the report said. "Mr Revell and Ms Reagan would have adopted Rita many years ago given the opportunity. Ms Reagan's medical condition prohibits her from ever travelling to Uganda to adopt Rita. The only way Mr Revell and Ms Reagan can assure Rita remains a part of their family in the United States is through a private Bill.""The beneficiary, whose correct name is, Margaret Rita Mirembe, also known as Rita Mirembe Revell, a native and citizen of Uganda, was born on an unknown month and day in 1985 in Kampala, the capital of Uganda," the report said. Rita is currently residing with Ms Reagan in Granite Bay, California and a studying at a private parochial high school in Sacramento. It said Ms Reagan is a well-known lecturer and political analyst. Ends