Foreigners no longer allowed to adopt children in Kenya

Piece by: Fred Indimuli
Lifestyle

Image courtesy of xpats.com 

With Kenya having been cited as a hub for human trafficking, the cabinet has moved to counter the situation by declaring a ban on adoption of Kenyan children by foreigners.

At a meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday, the cabinet also revoked all licences to conduct inter-country adoptions in Kenya with immediate effect.

Kenya featured prominently in the 2014 UN Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014 as a source, transit, and destination country in human trafficking.

The country is also ranked at Tier 2 Watch List for non-compliance with minimum standards for elimination of human trafficking, based on the 2014 US State Department report on trafficking in persons.

Cabinet noted that, current laws do not define child sale, child procuring, child trade and child laundering as part of child trafficking. This has in effect put Kenyan children at very high risk and allowed people masquerading through ownership of children homes and adoption agencies to engage in human trafficking under the guise of charity.