Divorced pilot clashes with wife over child

By Pamela Chepkemei

A devastated divorced pilot has sued his former wife, who is a lawyer, for informing him that he is not the biological father of the child he has brought up for over four years.

The pilot is also furious at the ex-wife for denying him access to their four-year old boy for reason that he is not the biological father.

“The respondent has suddenly brought out a very disturbing fact that there is another man in the picture who she claims is actually the child’s biological father,” says the pilot in documents filed at the High Court in Nairobi.

The woman has told the ex-husband that the child has a biological father and denied him access since April. She has also dared him to go through a DNA test and prove that he is the father if he wants access to the child.

The pilot has demanded to know who the other man is, but his former wife has refused to disclose the identity of the “so called biological father and adulterer”.

He says the court should intervene and salvage the child from suffering the mental shock of having to believe he has two living fathers.

“I have been living with the child since he was born for over four years before the marriage was dissolved and she never mentioned about the biological father,” says the pilot.

He wants the court to restrain her from exposing the child to “the so called biological father” pending the determination of the case.

“I have innocently invested heavily in the development and wellbeing of the child intellectually, materially and emotionally and the court should not allow the child to be exposed to a stranger at this delicate phase. No doubt the child has also invested heavily emotionally in me as his daddy,” he says.

In another turn of events, the woman has filed a suit at the Children’s court seeking a declaration that the former husband has no responsibility over the minor. She further wants the court to declare that the former husband is not the biological father of the kid.

She is asking the court to order that he is not entitled to have access to the minor and she is not entitled to seek any financial assistance from her former husband on account of the minor.

But the husband accuses her of trying to reverse orders earlier issued at the High Court divorce case for him to access the child using the back door. During the hearing of the divorce case which was instituted by the woman, she told the judge that she had no objection to the man having unlimited access to the boy as a father figure.

The pilot accuses his former wife of lying under oath during the hearing of the divorce case by telling the judge that the pilot was the child’s biological father.

The child’s school records, the birth certificate and all other documents bear the name of the pilot. He has also taken a medical insurance cover for the boy.

When she filed for divorce, the woman accused her husband of cruelty. She told the court that the pilot is a habitual drunkard who wets the bed due to excessive alcohol intake. He was also involved in extra marital affairs and did not spend time with the child causing the woman mental anguish. The woman said the pilot went out drinking every day and would come back at 5am during his paternity leave. The pilot denied all the allegations by the wife.

The Nairobian cannot reveal the identity of the parties to protect the child.