Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina at a past event. [Photo|thikatowntoday.co.ke]
An Independent MP now wants an absent father to pay 50 per cent for the upkeep and care of the child.
Thika Town legislator Patrick Wainaina said he is preparing a bill seeking to ensure that women do not bear the full responsibility of raising up a child alone.
"Every man who sires a child and does not take responsibility for its upkeep shall be compelled by law to deposit 50 per cent of his monthly income with the child's mother for maintenance," the MP said addressing journalists in Thika, Saturday.
The proposal, Child Support Bill, also seeks to have the government provide free DNA testing services to women seeking to prove paternity of their children.
"The high cost of DNA testing is a nightmare to many mothers as it helps absent fathers remain at large. This bill seeks to rectify that," the first-time MP added.
If this proposal is signed into law, it will be the second big win for children born outside marriage and abandoned by their fathers.
On May 26, 2016, High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi allowed mothers to put the names of their children's fathers on birth certificates, even without the men’s permission.
This gave identity to all children at birth and smoked out absent fathers, otherwise known as 'deadbeat dads'.