When former nominated MP and assistant minister Betty Tett and her husband William Tett adopted little David Tett, their intention was to raise him to be a responsible adult alongside their biological children.
David was only one year old when he lost his mother, who was Betty Tett’s sister. Initially placed in a foster home, he was later taken in by the Tetts, who had the best intentions for the toddler.
David grew up surrounded by all the trappings of a good life and love, just like his biological siblings. He had a privileged upbringing, including attending prestigious schools.
Despite this, he proved to be “a difficult, troubled child” and was hard to discipline. He was constantly on the wrong path, engaging in mischief and criminal activities.
Despite several attempts to guide David towards responsibility, the situation became uncontrollable.
At age 31, it seemed there was no turning back for the now-adult David. Despite carrying the name of his foster parents, his destiny appeared sealed.
On 6 September 2011, together with a criminal gang, he hatched a plot to storm his parents’ home and violently rob his foster father in Karen, Nairobi. During the incident, police shot and killed two gangsters.
David was later charged with robbing his father, William Tett, at gunpoint of Sh157,000 in cash and kind. At the time of committing the heinous crime, David was already a father.
On 28 June 2013, David William Tett was sentenced to death. (After an appeal, this was reduced to 15 years, and he was released in 2021.)
The case drew significant public interest.
In an interview in June 2012, during the trial period, Betty narrated how the family had lived in fear following their adopted son’s threats to their lives.
During his sentencing, the former assistant minister described her foster son as a troubled child.
During the trial, the heartbroken mother told the court: “We brought him up and took him in when he was very young. He could have been one year old when his mother died, and we raised him as our son, giving him the best education. We gave him everything we could in life. My children did not even go to the schools David attended.”
The Tetts are not alone.
In June 2012, Simon and Lucia Ngure appealed to the Nyahururu court for permission to eject their adopted twins, Samuel Ngure and Mary Ngure, from their home, claiming the children were unruly.
The couple had adopted the twins in 1999 after they were abandoned at birth by their biological mother, who was never traced.
Reportedly, Samuel had turned into a petty thief, stealing from his foster parents and selling off property, while his twin sister was abusive to her foster mother.
Under pressure from relatives eyeing their property, the couple sought to have the twins, who were adopted at the tender age of two and were now adults, struck off as their children.
To their chagrin, they discovered that, just like natural births, adoption was irreversible.
The court ruled not only that they could not disown the children, but also that the twins were entitled to their “rightful” inheritance—a five-acre piece of land each from their foster parents’ 25-acre estate.
According to Jerusha Otieno, a mother of two adopted children—Ken Otieno, 29, and Lynett Otieno, 27—adoption can be a struggle for parents. She explains that in their efforts to compensate for the adopted children's difficult past, parents might become overly lenient or show open favouritism, which can be detrimental.
“The saddest part of the Tetts’ story was listening to David’s defence, where he claimed he was a victim of kidnapping and that his foster parents had used the incident to ‘fix him’ because he was the ‘black sheep’ of the family. He blamed his behaviour on poor upbringing,” says Jerusha.
But that was not all. Jerusha recalls David’s further claims that he was a victim of his foster parents’ alleged plot to disinherit him of his deceased parents’ property and give it to their biological children (his cousins).
Jerusha followed the case closely with sadness, as she had a special interest. She had adopted two children around the same time the Tetts adopted David and was raising them alongside her now 33-year-old biological daughter.
She says she learned many hard lessons from the Tetts’ experience, which helped her raise her adopted son and daughter.
Jerusha says that parents of adopted children must understand that adoption, like birth, is irreversible. They must do everything they can to hold the family together.
“If well-managed, adoption creates tightly knit families where it is difficult to differentiate between adopted and biological children. Parents should realise that all children, natural or adopted, can come to a bad end, especially if they are overly indulged by their foster parents.”
The mother of three, all now adults, is herself a success story—proof that not all adoption cases end in tragedy. She says that since the Tetts’ tragic case, she has encountered many beautiful success stories of children redeemed from desperate circumstances whose futures once seemed bleak and violent.
“Cases of children turning against their parents are not limited to adopted or foster children—many biological children have also been involved in horrifying incidents,” says Joan Mwangeka, a social worker.
“Parenting a foster child can be more challenging than parenting biological children. Even when foster parents wish to raise an adopted child as their own, this does not always happen,” Mwangeka explains.
She adds that adopted children may not always warm up to their foster parents immediately. Having experienced unsafe environments in the past, they may initially resist their new families. However, over time, with love and trust, they can embrace their new home.
Ken Otieno and his sister Lynett Otieno are perfect examples of a successful adoption. Now young adults who have left the nest, they speak highly of their foster mother, whom they refer to as “our wonderful, caring, loving, and irreplaceable mother.”
The two, who only discovered four years ago that Jerusha was not their biological mother, say that while they are naturally curious about their birth parents, they would never seek them out at the expense of the only mother they have known.
They say they always felt “very loved and cherished” growing up. “It was like any other childhood. We only recently found out our adoptive parents weren’t our biological parents, but it doesn’t matter much,” they say.
“It is a parent’s responsibility to shape the values that a child grows up with. Children learn from what they see and hear. If a parent is irresponsible and shows no respect for others, they cannot expect their child to be well-behaved,” says Mwangeka.
Finally, she says that when children, whether biological or adopted, reach adulthood, they should be allowed to fend for themselves and take responsibility for their own lives.
“While it may be prudent for parents to host their adult children temporarily, under no circumstances should they harbour grown but unproductive children under the pretext of helping them get started. Shielding them from life’s challenges is a recipe for disaster,” she warns.
Jerusha Otieno, who has over two decades of experience parenting an adopted son and daughter, says that in many ways, adoptive parenting is not much different from raising a biological child. Both need a loving home and family.
However, she notes that raising an adopted child comes with the responsibility of sharing their adoption story.
“If you are parenting or planning to parent an adopted child, ensure they are confident in who they are, where they came from, and how loved they are by you.
Above all, remember:
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest developments and special offers!
