Paternity tests are advertised across Uganda and are now being offered at dumping prices. On social networks, tips are exchanged about where the cheapest and fastest DNA tests are available. Uganda’s Communications Technology Minister Chris Baryomunsi described the influx of people to testing labs as “another pandemic”, alluding to testing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Police, marriage counselors, some religious and political leaders have expressed concern that uncontrolled paternity tests could threaten the country’s social fabric. They warned of a growing mistrust between couples. Unwanted test results would often result in the separation of families or even suicide. Despite this, and although it is expensive, the number of men taking paternity tests is growing.
Simple press conference as trigger
The national avalanche of testing began at a Home Office press conference in June, where spokesman Simon Mundeyi recounted an official incident after a parent sought to invalidate the ID cards and passports of his six children after discovering that none one of them was biologically descended from him. He also no longer wanted to pay his high school fees.
Portal/James Akena A neonatal unit in Uganda’s capital Kampala
Less than two weeks later, the Ministry of the Interior registered the first record number of paternity tests in the only state laboratory approved so far for this purpose, which is under the control of the ministry. Until last year, an average of three exams were performed there per month. There alone, demand increased by 75%, according to Mundeyi. In a short time, according to police spokesman Fred Enanga, private laboratories “sprouted like mushrooms”. DNA kits for at-home self-tests are also in circulation.
Worrying divorce intentions
Negative paternity tests have already led to increased activity in several authorities. A “worrying” increase in divorce filings is being reported. The immigration service, which is responsible for issuing passports, receives more and more requests to cancel their children’s passports. At the same time, many men who leave home traumatized seek help.
Mundeyi urged Ugandan men to leave the DNA hysteria behind and just raise the kids as their own. “Someone is raising their kids too,” he said. Children are the main losers if the DNA results do not match the father’s. Women who are condemned by the public are also the losers in these cases, Ugandan feminist Grace Nakirijja Lwanga told NTV Uganda.
False DNA Results Warning
In view of the increase in the number of private test laboratories, the Ministry of Health warned of possible incorrect DNA results. Uganda’s parliament therefore debated the issue last week and instructed the government to issue a regulation. All laboratory installations will need a permit in the future. Campaigns aim to educate the public about how DNA tests work and quality standards.
Furthermore, DNA testing on children can only be performed with written consent and in the presence of both parents. Women with evidence disputing a paternity test are encouraged to contact the nearest police station and file a complaint.
Archconservatives sense conspiracy
Many MPs see an outside conspiracy behind the rush to test labs to break down African family structures. Member of Parliament Sarah Opendi, chair of the Family Policy Committee, and Vice-President Thomas Tayebwa belong to an arch-conservative circle of Ugandan politicians who passed an anti-homosexuality bill through the authorities in March.
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Homophobia on the Rise in Africa
In this context, conspiracy theories were already being discussed in parliament that homosexuality was something profoundly anti-African. Now, Opendi is accusing Uganda’s LGTBQ community of a conspiracy: “Perhaps now those who oppose the anti-homosexuality law are trying to destroy family structures once and for all through paternity tests,” says Opendi.
Call for child-friendly solution
Damon Wamara, director of Uganda’s Children’s Rights Network, called for child-friendly solutions to be sought so that the issue of paternity is not debated behind children’s backs. While DNA testing is a new phenomenon in Uganda, traditional methods have long been used to determine ancestry and paternity, Wamara said.
One is babies whose paternity is disputed being abandoned by their alleged father in a wicker basket in Lake Victoria. If the basket with the baby did not sink, biological evidence of the father would have been provided. However, men who found out in the past that they weren’t their child’s biological father kept that information to themselves, says Wamara.
One of the highest birth rates
Uganda, with its 45 million inhabitants, has one of the highest birth rates in the world. On average, each Ugandan woman has nearly seven children. Polygamy is widespread and accepted in society, not just among the Muslim minority. Wamara emphasized that paternity should not be judged solely on the basis of biological descent, especially at a time when adoption is recognized and accepted.