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DNA paternity tests nice to have because of trust deficit
Author: Musaazi Namiti. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- We have to trust people in order to deal with them, but I think that trust deficit is always going to be a problem even in countries such as Canada, Denmark, Finland and Norway — considered the most trustworthy in at least one global survey.
In Uganda, like in many other countries, finding people who are trustworthy is no mean feat. It is probably one of the most difficult things in human relations.
People’s behaviour is deceptive, and lying is commonplace. As Seth Stephens-Davidowitz wrote: “Everybody lies. People lie about how many drinks they had on the way home. They lie about how often they go to the gym, how much those new shoes cost, [or] whether they read that book.”
He went on: “They call in sick when they are not. They say they will be in touch when they will not. They say it is not about you when it is. They say they love you when they do not…They lie to parents. They lie to doctors. They lie to husbands. They lie to wives. They lie to themselves.”
That is a very good starting point to understand the true nature of people. And it suggests that as long as you are dealing with people, always remember that there is or there can be a trust deficit.
A good example is the story of a Ugandan man who had DNA paternity tests done at three different labs: one in Uganda, another in South Africa and a third in Canada. Each test confirmed that he is not the biological father of ‘his’ six children.
We have to trust people in order to deal with them, but I think that trust deficit is always going to be a problem even in countries such as Canada, Denmark, Finland and Norway — considered the most trustworthy in at least one global survey.
Men who trust their spouses and are certain that they are faithful will say DNA paternity tests are not necessary, as do those who have children that closely resemble them.
But trusting someone because you know them well or because of their past and current behaviour is no guarantee that they cannot start a sexual relationship with another person without your knowledge — or do something that is morally reprehensible.
Sometimes people and organisations we do not expect or least expect to betray our trust end up doing the complete opposite. These examples will help drive my point home.
In October 2021, Pastor Irene Manjeri Katongole shocked Ugandans when she claimed that “my husband cheated on me with three women and has a kid with each of them”.
Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, who for decades preached true love in marriage and faithfulness before his retirement, apologised for having an affair with the wife of a reverend and impregnating her.
Away from sexual relationships, we see trust deficit problems where we would ordinarily have none. The New York Times interviewed four young Rohingya sisters who told how government troops burned their home, killed their mother and abducted their father. But the paper’s subsequent investigations revealed that little of what the refugees said was true.
Volkswagen, the world’s second-largest carmaker known for luxury brands such as Bugatti and Porsche, breached the trust of its customers by equipping its cars with software that cheated emissions tests. Mitsubishi lied about fuel economy data.
And last week, a scholar at Harvard University named Dr Francesca Gino, who studies honesty, was making headlines for fabricating findings in her research.
If these individuals/world-class companies can cheat people, how about a woman who wants to have sexual fun outside of marriage?
A DNA paternity test comes in handy because, unlike people, it does not conceal anything. And if a woman knows she has nothing to hide and her husband requests a paternity test, she should simply say yes.
Mr Namiti is a journalist and former Al Jazeera digital editor in charge of the Africa desk
[email protected] @kazbuk
