So basically a lady can choose who the father is without the "fathers" consent?

Badly thought rule. If it has to be, it will torment single mothers who harbour hopes of being married. Now, you do not want to marry a girl who has a child with a name of another man.

@swenani

The child is already tortured when he uses the name of the mother. He is bullied and ridiculed because ako na jina ya umama because his name betrays him.He is treated as a special child because he has a womanly name.

shida, lakini wewe @Swenani you should get a mole huko registration department to update you how many certificates will suddenly have your name.
Imagine all the single ladies just after delivery being asked jina la baba na mwana, and all they remember is @Swenani akiwa katia its about the possible misuse of the same.

brings us back to the issue of surnames which i tried to put forward on this thread http://www.wazua.co.ke/f...spx?g=posts&t=27820

We misunderstood it to mean father's name, or in the absence of the father, the mother's name

You end up with many Mr Samuel Wanjiru, Mr Wambui etc

The surname thing that mzungu left for us means Wanjiru's son Samuel should get Wanjiru's surname. So if she is the daughter of Wamunyota, her son should be Samuel Kimanjuru Wamunyota

Does not changing the name of the father to that of the other real father make the new man the father?

No it does not. Fatherhood is a choice you make. You can choose to be a father of a child that does not have your name or blood. If fatherhood was a name, then why would we even be talking of a single mother who are taking care of the child on her own? And would giving the name make the guy walk to the school and pay school fees? No. How many fathers with their names appearing on birth certificates are dragged by their WIVES to court or to wazee barazas to take care of their own children? Children who they lived or still live with under the same roof?

We sponsor other children who are totally not our own children. So really, this name business is just monkey business.... Parenthood is a choice you make.

I think the problem is not with English but with our comprehension of it. It is not our native language anyway. 'Father' as a noun is a male parent. All of us tend to limit it to the verb only. 'Parent' is much wider than biological begetting only and includes that mlezi part. That said, is this a brain child of kilimani moms?