Attorney General Githu Muigai (Photo / The Standard)
The Attorney General and the Federation of Women Lawyers - Kenya (Fida) have once again locked horns on whether a man should automatically provide for a child born outside wedlock.In a case before a Kakamega court, a single mother sought Fida's assistance to make a man automatically fend for his child whether he bears his name or not.However the attorney General, through his office, has come to the defense of men stating that section 12 of the constitution is meant to cure mischief of malicious women after financial gains.“The mischief intended to be prevented by Section 12 is to avoid a scenario where malicious mothers, for financial gains or moral reasons, seek to have their children have statutory recognition from fathers even though they may not be the offspring,” the AG told the court.Fida argued that the term 'a child born out of wedlock' is discriminatory and childrens act creates an optional paternity scheme.“We find ourselves in situations where fathers of children born out of wedlock opt out of paternity by avoiding a legal relationship with their children and remaining free from any duty to support them. The discrimination is endemic in our country,” Fida argued.At the center of controversy are sections 2, 24, 26, 27, 94, 102 and 158 which Fida and the single mother claim that they violate the rights of children born out of wedlock.