MP Drafts Child Support Bill to Tame Deadbeat Fathers

Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina is drafting a Child Support Bill that aims at compelling irresponsible men to provide financial support for their children.

The Bill proposes that any man who declines to support any child they have sired be forced to surrender 50 per cent of his monthly salary to the mother of the child. The bill further recommends that the government offer free DNA testing services to any woman seeking to prove paternity of their kids.

"DNA services are expensive in this country. Majority of women who suffer with the burden of single parenthood cannot afford the all-important evidence needed to prove who sired their children," said Wainaina.

The MP believes that the Bill will go a long way in inculcating responsibility on men and reduce instances of deadbeat fathers.

"Most men do not want to take responsibility of the consequences of their sexual escapades. The burden is left on women. In some cases some of the kids born out of wedlock end up in the streets," he said.

He is also confident that if the bill is passed, it would significantly decrease cases of HIV infections as men will be forced to use protection.

The bill is likely to elicit heated debate in Parliament considering that majority of MPs are men.