Kenyan doctor and DNA-testing advocate Peter Ngumba has shared a deeply personal and painful experience after finding out he is not the biological father of the child he has raised for the past two years.
Ngumba shared that he took a DNA test to confirm the paternity of the little girl he believed was his daughter. The results showed that he is not her father, a discovery that left him in tears.
He recalled celebrating her second birthday earlier this month. He had given her KSh 2,000 as a birthday gift, a tradition he hoped to continue every year until she turned 25. The memory now feels heavy for him.
Ngumba explained that the child’s mother had earlier expressed doubts about the child’s paternity. That uncertainty pushed him to take the test.
“At one point, she told me she didn’t know who the father was,” he said. “So I decided it was time to do a DNA test. When the results came out, I realised I was not the biological father.”
The medic said the news broke him because he had always imagined having a daughter who looked exactly like the child he was raising.
Despite the shock, Ngumba spoke warmly about the bond he had formed with the girl. He has cared for her since birth. He took her to clinics. He bathed her. He cherished every moment she called him baba.
“When she told me she was pregnant, I didn’t deny it,” he said. “I may have doubted, but I stepped up. I have been there from day one.”
Ngumba ended his message with advice to parents. He urged them to consider DNA testing early to avoid the emotional pain he is going through now.