Men who sire children and shirk the responsibility of their upkeep will soon have the dreaded Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) to answer to.

Deadbeat fathers will also find it difficult to leave the country.

That is if the a proposal to amend the Children’s Act to tighten enforcement measures against people who abandon their children is passed by the Senate.

The proposal  by Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata suggests far-reaching measures that would make life a nightmare for men who father children and take flight, forcing the mothers to seek court intervention. 

Enforcement agencies

Kang’ata wants deadbeat parents to, among other things, be denied credit facilities by financial institutions because their actions would amount to defaulting.

“Among the intended amendments is that one will not be able to obtain loans from any financial institution if they are found to have refused to provide for their children,” Kang’ata told People Daily about his proposed amendments whose formal process kicked off yesterday.

The Senator wants CRB to be listed among the enforcement agencies of orders issued by either courts or the children’s department regarding maintenance of children. 

Kang’ata is proposing that orders on child maintenance be ranked higher than other commitments, meaning the consequences of abandoning a child would be graver than defaulting on a loan.

Yesterday, the Senate deputy Majority Whip forwarded a notice of the Bill to Speaker Ken Lusaka.

The proposal is likely to rattle many politicians, senior public servants and business people facing court cases filed by their spouses and mistresses regarding children upkeep. 

Licence denied

Another recommendation that is likely to face stiff resistance is that the department of Immigration, which the Senator has also listed among the proposed enforcement agencies for child maintenance orders, should block deadbeat fathers from leaving the country.

The bill also proposes that county governments suspend operating licences for defaulting fathers while for the employed, employers will be required to deduct child upkeep fees from their salaries. 

“If you are a deadbeat parent, you cannot operate a business. And this applies to both fathers and mothers who abandon their children,” he said.

Other proposed measures include being denied a Certificate of Good Conduct, meaning deadbeat fathers risk missing out on many opportunities.

DNA tests

If the proposals are passed, the decisions of children’s department officers will carry the same weight as court orders, which, according to Kang’ata, would make resolutions of children upkeep cases easier and faster.

“Filing a court case is very expensive and complex for poor and illiterate parents whose children have been abandoned by their spouses or lovers. A parent will be able to go obtain justice from the children’s office,” said Kang’ata.

An aggrieved party can, however, file an appeal in court challenging the children’s department’s determination.

Regarding DNA tests, the Senator is proposing that the cost should be borne by the parent with means, where a poor parent has filed an affidavit of means with the children’s office.

DNA tests, he said, have in the past been used to deny children justice but the proposed amendments would enable poor parents access justice.

“If the DNA test (results) turns negative, then the cost can be shared,” reads the proposal.