After deliberating for less than 15 minutes yesterday a jury found Mr Kahui not guilty of the murder of his twin infant sons.
Outside the High Court in Auckland he was guarded from the waiting media scrum by family and his lawyers Lorraine Smith and Michele Wilkinson-Smith.
His only comments were that he was feeling "good, real good", and was keen to "try to start my life again".
Mrs Smith said he was looking forward to regaining some privacy.
"He's a very private person. He doesn't want us to discuss his life, but he wants to move on, and he will."
Mr Kahui has not seen his remaining son, three-year-old Shane, for more than two years.
Mrs Wilkinson-Smith said she had no idea how long it would take him to regain a sense of normality.
"I think he has coped with remarkable dignity for a young guy...and now he just needs time to regroup and get his head around the fact that he is not on bail any more."
Any talk of celebrations was cut short as the lack of a guilty verdict indicated no one would be blamed for the twins' murder in June 2006.
Detective Inspector John Tims, who headed the investigation, said he was disappointed with the decision but would not point the blame at anyone.
"The jury has heard all the evidence and has come up with the answer.
"As far as I am concerned the matter is closed."
Despite Mr Kahui's defence pointing the finger at Macsyna King, the twins' mother, there will be no further arrests made.
"We thoroughly investigated each person until we identified Chris Kahui and made the arrest," Mr Tims said.
Children's Commissioner Dr Cindy Kiro said she hoped justice would eventually be served.
"It will be deeply distressing to many New Zealanders if no one is held accountable for this crime."
She called for those families who lived on "the fringe of society" to stop protecting abusers and speak out.
"Many children live in homes where there is inter-generational violence, drug and alcohol abuse. It will continue until family members break the wall of silence when the police come to call.
"Three month old babies cannot speak for themselves. Someone needs to break rank and tell the truth."
