Foreign nationals in Kenya have been banned from adopting children.
The Kenyan government announced that ban saying it takes immediate effect until new regulations are put in place.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday directed the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to enact new policies to regulate the practice of adoption.
The activities of the Child Welfare Society of Kenya (CWSK) are also to be streamlined.
There have been several media reports citing ambiguities in the adoption process. There were fears that could led to human trafficking.
Kenya does not have well-outlined laws on child adoption. That has led to several children’s homes.
In these homes adoption agencies and legal firms take advantage of perceived loopholes to get children out of the country.
There are also concerns that some of the children ended up in the hands of organ harvesting syndicates while others were sexually exploited.
The latest ban is to stop and reverse adoption cases that cover “special or exempt cases and circumstances” involving ailing children.
Kenya already in 2014 banned the adoption of Kenyan children by foreigners living outside Kenya.
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Source: Africafeeds.com