Prime
Govt moves to regulate DNA paternity testing
Information and national guidance minister, Dr Chris Baryomunsi
What you need to know:
- Government says the move follows concerns raised by the police, marriage counsellors, some religious leaders and politicians that uncontrolled paternity testing is threatening the very social fabric of the country.
Government has moved to head off the brewing social storm stirred by a sharp rise in demand for Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) paternity testing, saying yesterday that it recognises the potential danger posed to society if the service is left unregulated.
Information and national guidance minister, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, told Parliament that the government is, therefore, taking immediate steps to protect public interest amid reports of families being torn apart.
“Part of the concern is on the laboratories and the tests being carried out. The Ministry of Health this morning held a meeting with various labs and managers and an assessment is being carried out to check whether or not these labs are accredited,” he said yesterday.
Over the past month, Ugandans have encountered troubling reports of more men filing for divorce, while others are vigorously pursuing changes in children’s particulars on national personal data registers – after paternity tests proved they did not father the said children.
With a rise in demand for DNA testing, the police has warned that unscrupulous people could soon start peddling fake services, taking advantage of unsuspecting husbands desperate to confirm the paternity of their offspring.
A senior Health ministry official revealed that talks are underway between the government and owners of facilities which offer DNA paternity testing to agree how best to effect regulation.
The head of public health department at the ministry, Dr Daniel Kyabayinze, told this publication that the ongoing discussions are focusing on the question of “quality assurance”.
“Ministry of Health is discussing the need for quality assurance of these tests, the quality of counselling provided and the qualifications of the persons conducting the test,” Dr Kyabayinze, said yesterday.
The move to regulate DNA testing laboratories follows concerns raised by the police, marriage counsellors, some religious leaders and politicians that uncontrolled paternity testing is threatening the very social fabric of the country.
Already, in this past month alone, reports of traumatised fathers abandoning their homes after discovering the painful truth that they did not sire the children in the family, have been dominating the news.
During yesterday’s plenary session, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa echoed the urgent need for the government to step in and guide the nation on the controversial matter of paternity testing.
He asked Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to present a statement on the issue before Parliament next Tuesday.
“We need to guide the nation. Rt. Hon Prime Minister, you need to come out and guide the nation because what’s happening is terrible! Innocent children are falling victim. Young children are being chased out of homes and schools! What are we going to do about it?” he said.
The Deputy Speaker also warned of the dangers of quack DNA testing centres popping up all over the place – a situation which could cause a lot of harm in society, he said.
“Honourable colleagues, you know Ugandans are sharp, soon, there will be a DNA laboratory in every corner. So we want to know, how is this regulated? How should it be handled?” he said.
As the government prepares the necessary guidelines, Mr Tayebwa advised fellow male MPs not to suffer quietly.
“The issue of the current DNA tests… I don’t know whether some of you have fallen victim and are just sitting on it. We have counsellors in Parliament, so please don’t die in silence if you have this challenge,” he said.
As MPs weighed what options are available to protect Ugandans from being exploited, Ms Faith Nakut (Napak Woman) suggested that the Ministry of Health should quickly add DNA paternity testing to the list of restricted health services.
“We need to protect the men who are committing suicide and also the children who are now being abandoned,” she said.
Some marriage counsellors and social commentators attribute the rising demand for paternity testing services to a growing trust deficit and moral decay among couples in Uganda.
Also, prevailing economic hardships have forced more men to think twice about raising someone else’s children.
Last month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that there has been a 75 percent increase in the number of men going for DNA testing in order to ascertain the paternity of the offspring in their homes.
Information from the ministry indicated that last week alone, at least 32 men had written to the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC), demanding the cancellation of children’s passports after DNA results showed they are not the biological fathers.
In one particularly distressing case, ministry spokesman Simon Peter Mundeyi, revealed how a man who works abroad in Europe was shocked to discover – through DNA testing -- that all six children he had been raising and paying school fees for in international schools, were not his.
