This archive report was first published on 12 September 2019.
On September 12, 2019, the Kenyan Cabinet made a significant move to protect the country's children by banning the adoption of Kenyan children by foreign nationals with immediate effect.
The decision was made during a special Cabinet meeting at State House, where the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection was directed to formulate a new policy document to regulate the adoption of children by foreign nationals in Kenya.
The move comes as a response to concerns over the existing loopholes in adoption laws, which have led to court battles over the adoption of local children by foreigners.
One such case was that of an American couple, Daisy and Matt, who won a vicious adoption battle with the State over their procedure of adopting a Kenyan baby in April 2017.
However, the adoption process has been marred by controversy, with cases of children being taken away from their families and offered for adoption to foreigners.
As far back as August 2015, the High Court stopped two Swedish couples and a Danish couple from taking three Kenyan children out of the country after it was discovered that the minors were not abandoned orphans but had families.
Following a review of the adoption process by the Technical Assessment of the Legal Provisions and Practices of Guardianship, Foster Care and Adoption of children by the Government of Kenya and UN children agency Unicef, an adoption moratorium on foreigners was placed by the government in December 2014.
