Radio Jambo presenters Daniel Mwangi alias Mbusii and Lion on Friday, January 29, surprised new mothers at a family hospital in Nairobi.
The duo noted that their visit had been prompted by the numerous calls they received on radio from mothers claiming that the children's father took off immediately after birth.
"We decided to gift the entire maternity wing. The mothers were so happy and nothing beats a smiling mom," Mbusi stated.
"For some time, we have been fighting for the rights of the boychild but we came to the realisation that we also have to talk about deadbeat fathers," he added.
They surprised the new mothers with gift hampers and wellness goodies.
According to Section 2 (B) of the Children Act, if a man does not acknowledge paternity of a child or has not been contributing to the maintenance of the child, that child cannot be considered a relative to him.
A ruling by a Kakamega High Court Judge tightened the screws on deadbeat fathers by revoking the clause that gave them leeway to either accept or reject responsibility for a child born out of wedlock.
Justice Jesse Njagi stated that a man cannot escape parental responsibility because of unemployment adding that in the event the partner dies, he must take full responsibility.
"Parental responsibility is automatic and self-activating on parents upon the birth of a child and fathers cannot have the discretion of either rejecting or accepting that responsibility.
"The automation of parental responsibility upon the birth of a child and the responsibility is not left to the discretion of either the father or mother," Justice Njagi stated.
