Judge Clarifies Rules to Follow Before Adopting a Child

Kenya has adopted new synchronised rules and policies to help in children's adoption and, at the same time, address cases of child trafficking in the country.

According to the Court of Appeal judge Imaana Laibuta, the new laws allow the country to track every process involved in adoption.

Speaking on Thursday, September 15, on Spice FM, Justice Laibuta explained that under the new system, children placed on adoption can be traced to where they are being taken. The process also involves regularly monitoring their progress in their adopted parents' hands.

The new rules contained in the Children Act 2022 are also anchored on cultural backgrounds where the child's background is considered before the process is initiated.

"We have made it in such a way that if it is inter-country adoption which is a measure of last resort, we have made sure that we are able to track where that child goes, the conditions under which the child will live till adulthood," he explained.

"The Act prioritises cultural harmony in the adoption process," Justice Laibuta stated during an interview on Spice FM.

To tame child trafficking, Justice Laibuta further disclosed that the government had set stringent rules for establishing foster care homes. Under the new scheme, foster homes and their owners must be subjected to background checks to validate their legibility to host a child before adoption.

According to the Court of Appeal judge, who became the first blind judge in the country after swearing-in on June 2021, the move aims to end babies' businesses.

The Children Act 2022 further dictates that if a child is placed in foster care for more than three years without their biological parents placing claim, then they should be adopted.

"Some businesses have been a business. We have seen some mushrooming in our neighbourhoods. We have a very conscious shift to ensure that even charitable children's homes are also adoption centres.

The Children Act 2022 prioritises family-based alternative care instead of the institutionalisation of children in Children's Homes.

It also emphasises the welfare of children to parental care through the inclusion of alternative care services such as kinship, guardianship, temporary shelter and aftercare.

Under the new law, the age of facing criminal responsibility was raised from eight to 12 years.

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