Most lawmakers in Kenya have been rocked in child parenting cases where the male suspects abandon kids they sire out of wedlock.
A 27-year-old woman from Majengo in Narok County has accused nominated MP David Ole Sankok of evading parental responsibilities.
Peris Maina alleges that she and Mr Sankok, 43, got into a romantic relationship that lasted two years. The affair, according to Ms Maina, resulted in a baby boy born in 2015.
“I was in a relationship with David Sankok, when he operated a [medical] clinic here in Narok. During our two-year relationship, I got pregnant by him. I informed him that I was expecting his baby.
He claimed responsibility, and promised to take care of our baby. Following his assurance, I did not consider aborting the pregnancy,” Ms Maina told media.
“After giving birth in 2015, he has never called, texted or received any of my phone calls. When the baby was three months old, I took him to his medical clinic and left him there.
Sankok, thereafter, asked his secretary at the clinic to call and assure me he would, henceforth, take care of the baby. He gave the woman some money.
I went to his clinic took the money and the child, hoping he would take care of him,” said Ms Maina.
Ms Maina, who hails from Nakuru County, says she obtained a letter from a children’s welfare organisation in Nakuru, asking the MP to look after his own child; the MP, however, ignored the calls, claims Ms Maina.
“I urge him to take care of his child, and not me; the mother. He needs to provide for his medical needs, clothing, food and school fees,” said Ms Maina, who says she is jobless and relies on help from her mother.
“If he thinks the baby is not his, I am open to him undergoing DNA tests to prove the baby’s paternity. This is a suggestion I have floated to him several times in the past, but he often refused to entertain it,” said Ms Maina, who claims MP Sankok has given her Ksh32, 000 for child upkeep this far.
The complainant says she “would be okay with Ksh50, 000 monthly from the lawmaker as child support”.
MP Sankok, however, denied the woman’s claims, saying she is out to “soil my reputation”.
“I am ready to undergo DNA tests to prove that I am not the child’s father. After that proof, I would seek for damages from her [Peris Maina]. She is making all those allegations to soil my reputation.
Actually, she wanted I facilitate her abortion, but I refused. Her claims that she asked me to undergo DNA tests are false. DNA test can only be ordered by a court of law. If she obtains a court order, I would comply. I have blocked her; that means I cannot even receive her messages or phone calls. She only wants to spoil my image,” said MP Sankok.