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Ugandan Immigration warns men against going for paternity DNA tests


Mr Simon Peter Mudeyi, the Spokesperson of the Ugandan Immigration in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, warned Ugandan men against going for paternity tests to check if the children they are raising are biologically theirs.

His warning comes after it was reported 32 Ugandan men went to the Immigration to cancel their children’s passports after they underwent DNA testing and found unexpected results.

“DNA process is not for the simple-hearted. If you cannot stand the results, just don’t do it and look after the kid.  If your mother is still alive, you can be told at any time that you belong somewhere else. You should know that another man could be looking after your kid as well so don’t take these DNA things personally,” said Mr Mudeyi.

In another conversation on Uganda’s Urban Television, Mr Mudeyo also told of a story of a tycoon who had 15 children and left one of the kids out of his will. This one child- who is a lawyer- contested his father’s will and to prove that he was one of the rightful heirs, he had all his siblings tested against their father. It was found that of the 14, 4 children- including the one left out of the will- were the biological children of the tycoon.

Currently, there is a DNA testing debate craze going on in Uganda after 32 men went to the Immigration Department to cancel the passports applied for children they believed to be theirs. The Daily Monitor reported that these men found these children were not their biological children. However, Mr Mudeyi told the petitioning men that the passports could not be cancelled unless they go to the National Identification Registration Authority to change their details.

Additionally, dozens of men have been going to the Ministry of Internal Affairs with exhibits such as hair from the children’s heads, nails and blood samples to have tests taken to determine their paternity. Nairobi News samples some reactions to this #DNAUganda debate below:

“The DNA situation in Uganda is no joke. It’s unveiling the true colors of those perceived as faithful partners. The women society thought were incapable of infidelity are proving to be quite skilled in the game,” opined Jordan Turyatunga.

“Since the DNA issue is getting out of hand, we need to institutionalize the system. Whatever is done should be in the interest of the child. Imagine when tests are negative, people need to be supported into acceptance but mostly the child, or else we shall pave the way for gender-based violence,” said Grace Nakirijja Lwanga.

“I think DNA is the best thing that has happened to kids. There’s no reason why a kid should be imposed to the wrong father. Just tell women to stop cheating simple,” said Nsimenta Isaac.

“We need to understand the root cause for the increasing demand for the DNA test. Partners should learn to build trust in one another in this hard economy,” added Rophine Ajuma.

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