Kenya: Court Upholds Father’s Right to Access Child Despite Unpaid Dowry

In a landmark judgement, the Court of Appeal in Nyeri has ruled that a father cannot be denied access to or custody of his child on the basis that he has not paid the dowry.

The case involved a dispute between a biological father and the child’s grandparents, who had been taking care of the minor since the mother died during childbirth. 

The father had initially allowed the grandparents to stay with the child as he handled hospital bills and the wife’s burial arrangements and occasionally…