DNA tests: Child’s rights override parents privacy concerns

Not so long ago, DNA was not a term in every day conversations. In recent times, however, it is one of the most frequently used scientific terms in the Children's Courts. Simply put and the way we understand it in the Children's Courts, DNA is the test used to establish biological relationships.

You see, a child's right to maintenance is dependent on two main factors; whether one is a biological parent or  has assumed parental responsibility over the child. The Honourable Magistrates in the Children's Court will easily tell you as follows; they are the busiest magistrates in Kenya and they will be right; that most of the cases they handle involve parental responsibility; that parental responsibility includes legal, physical and financial responsibility over a child; that as much as there are many disputes over legal and physical parental responsibility, there are many more disputes over financial responsibility over children.