High Court Makes Declarations of Parentage in an Unprecedented Case Involving Kenyan Children Fathered by British Soldiers
3rd Oct 2025 | Cases
Four members of Harcourt Chambers, Rob George KC, leading Mavis Amonoo-Acquah, Natasha Miller and Paige Campbell, instructed by James Netto of International Family Law Group, have been involved in a landmark Declaration of Parentage case concerning 15 joined cases. The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, today make Declarations of Parentage by consent in relation to six of those cases, recognising that the fathers of each of these children are British citizens. Each of the fathers was previously stationed in or around Nanyuki, Kenya, which is home to the British Army Training Unit Kenya (known as “BATUK”). The remaining cases remain on-going.
Work on these applications has been ongoing since December 2024, when IFLG partner James Netto travelled to Nanyuki with a multidisciplinary team from King’s College London and a Kenyan advocate to meet the applicants. DNA samples were taken and were analysed and cross-referenced against public genetic databases, with the assistance of Professor Denise Syndercombe-Court (Forensic Genetics, KCL).
At an earlier hearing in July 2025, the High Court made disclosure orders in respect of the putative fathers, seeking information from government bodies to help locate the respondents. The remaining cases are expected to be considered further at another hearing in December 2025.
The case has already attracted significant press coverage, and representatives from various media organisations were present at today’s hearing.
Partner James Netto, who acts for the applicants, said:
“Today’s orders are of profound legal and human significance. For the first time, these children and young people have received formal recognition of their parentage – a matter that strikes at the core of their identity, and of their rights.
In just a few months, the progress has been remarkable. Many children are now speaking with fathers they never knew, and men are meeting their children for the first time. Families are reclaiming lost decades and discovering connections they never knew they had.
Today’s hearing demonstrates that science and law, working together, can deliver real and life-changing outcomes. For some families, this is the end of an incredibly difficult journey; for others, it is just the beginning as we continue to trace fathers and family members still unknown.”
Also reported by the BBC.
