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| woman with adopted babies |
by Nancy makena
Adoption is a great concept that offers legal means through which children can find a home away from their parents or birth circumstances.
The Act has placed and donated the jurisdiction and power to deal with adoptions exclusively in the hands of the judges of the High Court. The process had to go through a very rigorous test before the adoption orders can be granted. Many players are involved in all adoption cases — children officers, adoption societies, guardians, parents of the child, the adoptive parents, registration officers and sometimes, the police.
You have to satisfy the judge that the child is available and eligible for adoption.
From a general entry, every adult can adopt. Section 258 of the Children's Act has however provided for a list of people who cannot adopt children.
Article 53 of the constitution, as read alongside Section 4 of the Act, provide that the best interest of the child principle carries the day whenever we are dealing with children.
Section 258 (2) of the Act provides that an adoption order shall not be made in favour of the following people unless the court is satisfied that there are special circumstances that justify the making of an adoption order:
(a) a sole male applicant in respect of a female child;
(b) a sole female applicant in respect of a male child;
(c) an applicant or joint applicants who have or both have attained the age of 65 years;
(d) a sole foreign female applicant.
Subsection 3 goes ahead to make more restrictions. It provides that an adoption order shall not be made if the applicant or, in the case of joint applicants, both or any of them:
(a) is not of sound mind within the meaning of the Mental Health Act;
(b) has been charged and convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction for or any of the offences set out in the Third Schedule to this Act or similar offences;
(c) is a homosexual;
(d) in the case of joint applicants, if they are, not married to each other;
(e) is a sole foreign male applicant.
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