[2022] KEHC 10871 (KLR)
The court found that, although Section 158(2)(b) of the Children Act generally prohibits a sole female applicant from adopting a male child, the circumstances of this case are special: the child was abandoned, no willing person came forward to adopt him, and he had already been placed with the applicant for foster...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2022] KEHC 10871 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: CWW
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Law Courts)
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Adoption Cause E129 of 2021
- Procedural Posture
- Adoption Cause / Judgment
- Outcome
- adoption granted
- Judges
- AO Muchelule
- Legal Topics
- Adoption of Children, Best Interests of Child, Abandoned Children, Guardianship, Parental Rights, Children Act Interpretation
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
CWW
Applicant
Procedural Posture
Adoption Cause / Judgment
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether a sole female applicant may adopt a male child under the special circumstances of this case.
- 2 Whether the adoption is in the best interests of the child.
- 3 Whether all statutory requirements for local adoption have been met.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that, although Section 158(2)(b) of the Children Act generally prohibits a sole female applicant from adopting a male child, the circumstances of this case are special: the child was abandoned, no willing person came forward to adopt him, and he had already been placed with the applicant for foster care. The applicant demonstrated social, emotional, and financial stability, and the child had bonded well with her. Both the guardian ad litem and the Director of Children Services recommended the adoption. The court held that it is in the best interests of the child to be adopted by the applicant, who will assume all parental rights and obligations. The consent of the...
Court Disposition
adoption granted
Orders
- The applicant CWW is allowed to adopt Baby C.I.
- Baby C.I. shall henceforth be known as TZW.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
19 paragraphs
In re Baby CI aka M aka Abandoned Baby Boy CI (child) (Adoption Cause E129 of 2021) [2022] KEHC 10871 (KLR) (Family) (12 May 2022) (Judgment)
Neutral citation: [2022] KEHC 10871 (KLR)
Republic of Kenya
In the High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Law Courts)
Family
Adoption Cause E129 of 2021
AO Muchelule, J
May 12, 2022
In the matter of
CWW
Applicant
Judgment
1. The applicant CWW is a Kenyan, single and aged 36 years. She is a clothes vendor. She does not have any children. On 29th September 2021 she filed this originating summons seeking to adopt Baby C.I.
2. Baby C.I. was estimated to have been born on 8th January 2016. The baby was found abandoned on 8th of January 2018 at Donholm Estate Nairobi. The matter was reported to Buruburu Police Station vide OB No. 20/8/1/2018. The baby was temporarily placed at Imani Children’s Home on the 8th of January 2018. He was formally committed to the said institution by the Nairobi Children’s Court in Protection and Care Case No. 195 of 2018 on the 6th of June 2018. The final police letter is dated the 26th of September 2018 indicated that all efforts to trace the parents of the child were not successful. On 15th November 2018 the child was declared free for adoption and certificate No. xxx issued by KKPI Adoption Society. The applicant has been with the child since the 28th January 2020 when the child was placed with her for foster care.
3. On 2nd December 2021 the court appointed EWW as the guardian ad litem and ordered her and the Director of Children Services to separately carry out a social inquiry on the applicant to determine her suitability to adopt the child. The two reports were filed. Both recommended the applicant be allowed to adopt the child. The reports found the applicant to be socially, emotionally, and financially stable and suitable to adopt the child. It was also found that the child had bonded well with the applicant.
4. Under Section 158(2) (b) of the Children Act a sole female applicant is prohibited from adopting a male child. In this case, however, the child was placed with the applicant when he was five years old and had been freed for adoption when he was three years old. This as indication that there was no willing person to take him. I consider the circumstances to be special. It is also true that it is better for the child to grow up in a home environment than in a children home.
5. The court finds that it is in the best interest of the child to be adopted by the applicant. The applicant has demonstrated her capability to provide a conducive home and family environment in which the child will grow and develop. She will assume all parental rights and obligations of the biological parents of the child once adopted and shall treat him as if he was born to her. She has been made aware that once the adoption order is made, it shall be final and binding during the lifetime of the child. The child shall have the right to inherit her property. The applicant shall not be able to give up the child owing to any subsequent unforeseen behaviour or other changes in the child. The consent of the parents of the child is hereby dispensed with as he was found abandoned.
6. Having been satisfied that all the legal requirements for a local adoption under the Children’s Act have been met, the following orders shall issue:-a.the applicant CWW is hereby allowed to adopt Baby C.I.;b.Baby C.I. shall henceforth be known as TZW;c.the child’s date of birth shall be 8th January 2016, and shall be presumed a Kenyan having been found in Donholm Estate in Nairobi in Kenya;d.EM is hereby appointed as the child’s legal guardian in the event of the death or incapacity of the applicants before he is of full age and fully self-reliant;e.the Registrar-General is directed to enter this adoption in the Adopted Children Register; andf.the guardian ad litem is hereby discharged.
DATED and DELIVERED NAIROBI this 12THday of MAY 2022. A.O. MUCHELULEJUDGEADOPTION NO. E129 OF 2021 (OS) JUDGMENT Page 2