How to legally adopt a relative in Kenya: What families need to know
Mother helps her niece to do homework. She wants to adopt the niece after her mother died and she has no known father.
What you need to know:
- Kinship adoption under Kenya’s Children Act, 2022, allows relatives to legally adopt orphaned or abandoned children within their extended family.
- The process begins with a registered adoption society, includes a home study, and ends with a court order that grants full parental rights to the caregivers.
- The law outlines clear steps—from home assessment to court approval—to ensure the child’s welfare, stability and long-term security.
Dear Vivian,
My sister passed away six months ago, leaving behind a 12-year-old daughter. She was not married and the child’s father is unknown. My husband and I have taken the child in, and she has been living with our family and schooling since then. We now want to legally adopt her and raise her as our own. What legal steps should we follow to complete this adoption in Kenya?
Zawadi Maimuna
Ukunda
Dear Zawadi,
What you are seeking falls under kinship adoption under the Children Act, 2022. Kinship adoption allows a relative of a child to adopt them legally, ensuring the child remains within the extended family. The law prioritises the child’s best interests, focusing on stability, education, emotional care, and a supportive family environment.
The first step is to approach a registered adoption society, such as the Child Welfare Society of Kenya, which coordinates with the National Council for Children’s Services. You will need to declare your intention to adopt, and the society conducts a home study and assessment. Social workers will visit your home, interview your family, and evaluate living conditions, financial stability, emotional readiness, and your ability to meet the child’s educational and welfare needs. They also confirm your suitability to be a parent and prepare a report recommending the adoption.
Because your niece is an orphan with no known father, she qualifies as a child eligible for adoption. The law requires that the child should have been under your care for at least three consecutive months before filing the adoption application, a requirement you meet.
Once the home study is complete and the report prepared, the next step is to file an application for an adoption order at the High Court or Children’s Court. For kinship adoption, the usual age-gap requirement does not apply, simplifying the process for you. The court will examine the social worker’s report, your documentation (IDs, marriage certificate, proof of residence and income, children’s birth certificates), proof of the child’s orphan status and evidence that no other guardian is available. Since the child is 12, the court may consider her views, speaking to her in a child-sensitive manner. The focus remains on what will best serve her welfare and development.
If the court is satisfied that adoption is in the child’s best interest, that you are fit and capable, and that all legal procedures are followed, it will grant an adoption order. The Registrar of the High Court (or the Registrar of the Children’s Court, depending on which court issued the order) is responsible for registering it. The registry enters the child in the Adopted Children Register, which is maintained under the Children Act, 2022.
The above registration gives the adoption full legal effect. This means the child becomes the legal child of the adoptive parents, with all parental rights, inheritance rights, and responsibilities formally vested in them. The child’s birth record may also be updated to reflect the adoption and your niece becomes your legal daughter, with full parental rights and responsibilities vested in you.
Vivian
The writer is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and award-winning civil society lawyer ([email protected]).
