The Mombasa Law Courts has ordered that the man (Mr SVK) who found out that he did not father the child he has been raising as his own with his ex-wife (Ms RNL) be awarded Sh700,000.
According to the court, the amount is compensation for the emotional damages caused to him after the paternity test turned out negative.
The amount is also intended to cater for the maternity expenses he incurred when his ex-wife was pregnant until delivery.
The participants in the case were not named by their actual names.
The sum will be paid to SVK by the child’s biological father who was identified in the court documents as Mr. NTA
Making the verdict on Wednesday, Justice Eric Ogola praised SVK for taking great care of both RNL and the child and for providing them with quality healthcare.
According to the court documents, RNL went to her parents’ house soon after delivery.
While she was there, she broke the devastating news to SVK telling him he was not the father of her newborn baby.
The court pointed out that although SVK did not put a price on the amount he spent on the mother and child, it acknowledged that he indeed took care of the two and paid the hospital delivery charges.
“For all his troubles, the first respondent (Mr. SVK) is entitled to compensation for the expenses he incurred in caring for the mother and baby,” said the Judge.
Sources indicate that NTA filed a suit against SVK to have the child’s name on the birth certificate changed from SVK’s to NTA’s.
In his cross-petition, SVK revealed that Ms RNL was his wife by co-habitation at the time she conceived in 2015.
RNL bore a baby girl whom SVK adored and proudly named after his mother.
However, his pride turned to pain and anguish when RNL called him from her parents’ home in September 2016, telling him that he was not the father of her daughter.
A distraught SVK demanded for a paternity test which turned out negative, confirming that he was indeed not the child’s father.
According to SVK, he had not a clue that his then wife was having an affair with NTA although the latter was aware of their marriage.
SVK also revealed that NTA and RNL have since been married and that NTA took responsibility as the father.
The court ordered the Registrar of Births in the county to rectify the child’s name from SVK to NTA.
It also ordered that NTA caters for the costs of the case.