90-year-old man wants paternity test of three adults using his name

For a 90-year-old, KMW, being called a father by three has led him to seek the court's redress for what he terms as illegal and fictitious.

KMW as per court records filed on October 5, 2018 at the High Court in Nairobi has sued MK alias MW, KK alias KW, and MK alias MW. 

A week ago, High Court Judge Maureen Odero allowed the application by KMW seeking to have the three undergo a DNA test to determine their paternity.

KMW challenges the records of the three at the Registrar General naming him as their father as inaccurate, illegal, and fictitious.

He stated that in 1988, the dispute was presented before their local chief in Gatamaiyu and the chief told the three to return to their mothers’ home in Kandara Division, Muranga County.

Now at an advanced age, he wishes to have the paternity issue conclusively resolved as he does not want the three to one day claim any part of his estate.

“The Plaintiff (KMW) asks that a DNA test be conducted to exclude him as the father of the defendants. He indicates that he is ready and willing to shoulder the cost of the DNA test,” read part of the court document. 

KMW told the court that the three are persons who are strangers to him. That they are not his children yet they persist in using his name ‘K’ as a surname. He said the three have used his name in their national Identity Cards without his knowledge and or consent.

MK alias MW, KK alias KW, and MK alias MW opposed the summons through their replying affidavit dated October 22, 2018. They assert that the man was married to their mother named SWK, claims the old man denies. 

The three said when their mother passed on, the old man’s mother one ZN took them in and raised them to maturity. That it was their grandmother who bestowed on them the name ‘K’ which they have been using since childhood. 

They, however, state that they do not know who their biological father is but are averse to a DNA test as they believe this will prejudice them. They state that they have no interest in the property of the old man as their grandmother, ZN, made provisions for them in her will.

The three did not deny that they are using the old man’s name.

“It is clear that the issue of paternity is central to this matter. Though the defendants claim that the plaintiff married their mother, they have not adduced any evidence of the existence of a statutory or customary marriage between the Plaintiff and their mother,” ruled the court.

The judge said the court does not need to engage in guesswork to establish paternity at a time where it is possible to establish within 99.9 percent accuracy.

The court noted that the old man’s mother took in the three after their mother died and she raised them to maturity. In the judge’s view, the act amounts to a “sufficient basis” to warrant a DNA test.

“It is desirable that this question of paternity be settled conclusively. Therefore, I direct that the Plaintiff and the Defendants submit themselves for a DNA test. The cost of the DNA test to be met by the plaintiff,” ruled the court.

Whether the three should stop using the name ‘K’ and or the question of whether the Registrar General should be directed to rectify his records will have to abide by the results of the DNA test.