He made me pregnant,but can't man-up to responsibility

A woman is accusing the Government Chemist in Mombasa of conspiring with ‘the father’ of her 16-year-old son to ‘cook’ paternity test results to ensure the man does not pay for child support.

Helen Thyaka (pictured), 34, accuses Hudson Kidaha Kisigwa of allegedly refusing to take care of their son, Clinton Thyaka.

Helen, a jobless orphan, claims she conceived and gave birth to baby Clinton while working as Hudson’s house help in Dandora, in February in 1998.

She claimed Hudson did not have a wife and forced her to have sex with him.

“I later learnt that I was pregnant. He was the first man I knew intimately. When I broke the news, he asked me to go back to the village and promised to call me once he was back in the city as he was out of town,” recalls Helen, adding that she decided to return after a month after failing to hear from Hudson, who had by then reportedly moved houses.

Helen was allegedly helped by well-wishers, and for 14 years, Hudson stayed out of the picture and never bothered to look for her.

However, she claimed that in 2015, outside a supermarket in Mombasa, he bumped into him.

“I demanded to know why he had neglected us. I caused drama and to avoid embarrassment, he gave me his phone number,” she said.

Helen says Hudson committed to pay Clinton’s school fees and even cleared Sh7,000 balance and “initially we would visit him at his home in Mshomoroni where he also treated us kindly. He even bought a TV set for me and promised to pay school fees for Clinton if he passed his class eight exams.”

Helen further claims that Hudson went against his promise when she called him late last year with news that Clinton had scored 323 marks which secured him a place at Kathonzweni High School in Makueni County.

“He told me that he had done enough and did not want to be stressed by anything and thereafter blocked my number,”claimed Helen.

Helen reported the matter to police. When the matter proceeded to court, the court ordered a DNA test to ascertain paternity of the boy. The Children’s Court in Tononoka granted her prayer which saw her samples and Clinton’s taken for analysis in February this year.

But the Government Chemist released the results indicating Hudson was not Clinton’s biological father. But Helen is disputing the results and she is not the only one with a bone to pick with the Government Chemist. 

“All along, I knew they were buying time in order to have Hudson organise for a transfer to Nairobi,” claims Helen, adding that, “Hudson was the first man I ever had sex with and there’s no way he can claim the child is not his.”

The son has been expelled from school due to lack of school fees and has threatened to commit suicide if he is not reunited with his father.

Contacted by The Nairobian, Hudson admitted that he assisted Helen as a “well-wisher,” but denied ever sleeping with her.

 “She gave me a lot of stress and that’s why I decided to pay for DNA testing to prove to the world that she was only trying to take advantage of me,” Hudson claimed. He further dismissed Helen’s claims as “mere allegations, but I’m happy that the test has vindicated me.”

He added: “At no time did Helen work for me as a house help. I have never bought them a TV.”

But Helen claims to have spoken to Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi who promised to pay for a separate DNA test to be conducted abroad. The Nairobian however could not reach Mwinyi to confirm this.

The Government Chemist in Mombasa admitted the test was carried out but declined to comment on the matter. “I’ve spoken to the boss who is authorised to comment but he has said he has no comments,” said a female employee who declined to reveal her identity and designation.

The case is at Tononoka Children’s Court and is scheduled for hearing on June 29.