A child’s contact with both parents cannot be withheld to force payment of maintenance. Under Section 24 and Section 83 of the Children Act (2022), read alongside Article 53 of the Constitution of Kenya, access is recognised as the child’s fundamental right. Maintenance and access are distinct legal obligations, governed by the best interests of the child.
Access is the child’s right
Parents may describe access as “my time with the child”. But the starting point is the child, not what either parent feels the other deserves. Access means the child maintaining contact with both parents. It is not a reward for making payments.
For example, a disagreement about money for the child should not become a condition that contact can only happen once payment is made. That turns the child’s contact with a parent into a tool for settling the adults’ financial disagreement.
Maintenance and contact are separate issues
Maintenance concerns support for the child. Access concerns the child’s contact with both parents. Both matter, but one must not be used as leverage to compel the other.
This does not mean that unpaid maintenance is unimportant. It means that denying contact is not the way to force payment. Kenyan courts consistently treat maintenance and access as distinct obligations, with the child’s best interests guiding both.
The key distinction is simple: a dispute about support must not turn the child’s relationship with a parent into a bargaining tool. The focus remains on the child rather than on punishing one parent or strengthening the other parent’s negotiating position.
Keep the discussions separate
If maintenance becomes a source of conflict, keep copies of payment records and messages about support. Keep a separate record of discussions about contact. This can help make clear what each disagreement is actually about.
When communicating, discuss the support issue directly rather than attaching a payment demand to contact with the child. If you are unsure how to handle the disagreement, speak to an advocate about the circumstances.
Throughout those discussions, return to the same question: are the adults addressing their disagreement, or making the child’s contact with a parent depend on money?
Entertainment and general information, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, speak to an advocate.