Farmer’s expensive dream of becoming a father ends in tears
Nanyuki-based farmer Dion William Van Aardt’s dream of becoming a father has turned into an expensive emotional roller-coaster ride, three years after he hired an agency to get him a surrogate mother and an egg donor.
He would in February have celebrated the second birthday of his daughter, Ottalin Mary Josephine – named after his mother – had everything gone according to plan.
But after paying Sh2.9 million to Ms Winnie Warigia Maina’s Family Fertility and Surrogacy Agency Ltd, Mr Aardt was told the surrogate mother and his daughter had died.
Mr Aardt said investigations revealed the 13 months he engaged Ms Maina and her clinic could have been a smokescreen to defraud him.
“Ms Maina said it would be good to name the baby as it would be a great way to prepare for delivery. She said she would knit a blanket for the child and embroider the name on it,” Mr Aardt told Senior Resident Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot yesterday.
Mr Aardt started doing research on surrogacy in 2017, bumping into the Family Fertility and Surrogacy Agency Ltd website.
He found referrals based on interviews Ms Maina had given to two local TV stations.
Surrogate mother
Though sceptical, Mr Aardt sent an email to the agency, which said it could help him trace an egg donor and a surrogate mother.
The farmer and Ms Maina first met at Aga Khan Hospital on January 12, 2018. She was accompanied by another woman she introduced as a lawyer. They gave Mr Aardt contracts to sign, but the farmer said he would need more time.
One of the contracts was between Mr Aardt and Ms Maina’s agency. The second was between Mr Aardt and a surrogate mother, identified as Peninah Wanjiku Wanjiru.
After a chat at a restaurant within the hospital, the two went to meet Dr Praful Patel, a gynaecologist at Aga Khan.
The doctor advised Mr Aardt to first do an analysis of his semen. The farmer told the court that he visited Pathcare Kenya, a medical laboratory.
As Pathcare does analysis only, he would be required to give another sample at Aga Khan for the surrogacy.
The results were back on January 15, 2018.
“Ms Maina called and said the results were not perfect but Dr Patel could still help me. I asked if I could speak to Dr Patel. Ms Maina arranged for a phone meeting. He confirmed what she had said. I felt I could trust her,” he said.
Egg donor
Mr Aardt signed the contracts and sent them to Ms Maina the following day. Ms Maina’s representative, Euphrasia Tshikuze, signed for Family Fertility and Surrogacy Agency.
Ms Wanjiru also signed. Copies of the contracts were forwarded to Mr Aardt in Nanyuki.
Mr Aardt asked if he could meet Ms Wanjiru but Ms Maina advised against it, saying the two should maintain professional distance.
Mr Aardt made the first payment of $4,000 (Sh439,000) to the agency’s account.
Ms Winnie Warigia Maina when she appeared before the Milimani Law Courts on March 23, 2021 to answers to charges of defrauding Mr Dion William Van Aardt of Sh2.9 million for surrogacy services.
The farmer picked an egg donor from a catalogue given by Ms Maina who said 12 ova were harvested for Mr Aardt’s procedure.
Mr Van Aardt then went back to Aga Khan to give a fresh semen sample. This time, an appointment was booked with Dr Shaheen Patel who assured the farmer that the sample was good enough to give him a child.
Ms Maina pledged to bring the egg donor and surrogate mother soon to initiate a pregnancy.
On May 3, Ms Maina called Mr Aardt every hour to update him on the progress. Two days later, she called to say that the process was successful.
Healthy baby
Mr Aardt travelled to Nairobi to meet the surrogate mother for the first time on July 13, 2018.
They met at Medanta Hospital, Waiyaki Way, where Ms Wanjiru underwent scans that confirmed she was carrying a healthy baby.
Everything seemed fine but Ms Maina reportedly started asking for money that was way above what had been agreed on.
While the farmer did not reveal the contract sum in court yesterday, he said the Sh2.9 million was above the agreed amount. He said the deal gave room for additional payments for the welfare of the surrogate mother or baby.
“Ms Maina once called to say the surrogate mother had urinary tract infection and I would need to pay for the medical costs,” he said.
“Some of these people in court are family and friends who assisted with loans. Though I found Ms Maina’s character strange, I honoured the payments,” Mr Aardt said.
In October, Ms Wanjiru underwent another scan, which confirmed the baby was healthy.
Ottalin was to be born on February 14, 2019.
Mr Aardt’s parents had visited to await the big day. A few days earlier, family members had hosted a baby shower, where loads of presents were given.
No sign of baby
The date passed and there was no baby. A week went by and still no sign of the baby.
Ms Maina said it was a case of breech baby, meaning the child’s head was facing the mother’s head. In such cases, a caesarian section is done.
Ms Maina told the farmer that Ms Wanjiru had refused to deliver through CS.
On February 24, 2019, Mr Aardt insisted Ms Maina and Ms Wanjiru meet him the following day.
He packed the necessary baby materials into a car, ready to travel to Nairobi.
But just before leaving, Ms Maina called in a panic, saying Ms Wanjiru was unconscious and unresponsive.
Ms Maina later said cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had failed and both Ms Wanjiru and the baby were dead.
“I could not finish the call. I went to inform my parents. It was difficult because they had also lost a baby in the past. From that moment, I did not talk to Ms Maina, but my parents and brother did,” Mr Aardt said.
Sad news
Ms Maina is said to have refused to let Mr Aardt see the bodies of Ms Wanjiru and the baby. She, however, asked for more money to move the bodies from Umash “to a nicer funeral home”.
Suspecting something was amiss, the farmer’s family members began investigations.
On February 27, 2019, Mr Aardt called Dr Patel to break the sad news.
But Dr Patel said it could not be his child because the semen sample was at Aga Khan Hospital.
Mr Aardt’s family then inquired about Wanjiru’s body at Umash Funeral Home but were told no one of that description had been taken there.
He informed his lawyer Ray Tollo, who in turn reported to the police.
While cross-examining Mr Aardt yesterday, Ms Maina’s lawyers said the farmer signed a contract with Ms Wanjiru, which provided that the surrogate was to pay for damages in the event of trouble.
Ms Maina was charged on March 12 last year with obtaining money by false pretences.
The hearing continues. BY DAILY NATION
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