Labour CS Kazungu Kambi's order on children illegal, rules High Court

What you need to know:

  • The judge ruled that the Children Welfare Society of Kenya must be supervised, and that Mr Kambi’s decision was “improper as well as in bad faith”.
  • The judge promptly issued an order restricting Mr Kambi or anyone else from implementing that rule.

The High Court has quashed a decision by a Cabinet Secretary to exempt a child welfare society from supervision.

In a case filed by more than 220 adopted youth and five children’s homes, Justice Weldon Korir ruled that the Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi erred in issuing a blanket exemption from the provisions of Section 177 of the Children’s Act.

Instead, the judge ruled that the Children Welfare Society of Kenya must be supervised, and that Mr Kambi’s decision was “improper as well as in bad faith”.

Baby J and 219 others from Child in Family Focus, Kenyans to Kenyans Peace Initiative Adoption Society, Little Angels Network, Kenya Children’s Home Adoption Society and Buckner Kenya adoption Services, claimed that Mr Kambi passed the regulation in favour of the welfare society.

They argued that the decision to allow the welfare society to deal with child adoption matters without being registered as an adoption society as required under the Children’s Act was illegal.

The judge agreed with them and promptly issued an order restricting Mr Kambi or anyone else from implementing that rule.

“An order of prohibition is hereby granted to the Labour CS from issuing and implementing Legal Notice No. 206 of 2013 — the Children Exemption Order and subsequently issuing similar notices without legal justifications,” said Justice Korir.

In the suit filed on April 25, the five adoption homes claimed that Mr Kambi’s decision was a direct violation of Article 53(2) of the Constitution, which states that a child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning it.

They further claimed that the welfare society had been allowed to carry out functions of an adoption society without any supervision or accountability from the adoption committee.