The Chairperson of Parliament’s Human Rights Commission, Fox Odoi has called for enactment of regulations government DNA testing to ensure that the rights of innocent victims caught in this cross fire are protected regardless of results of the tests.
Odoi, who doubles as MP for West Budama North East made the remarks in the media interview at Parliament while reacting to the latest trend amongst Ugandans taking DNA samples of their children in order to establish their paternity.
“The DNA I think should be restricted to protect children and the restrictions I am talking about is we should have regulations that notwithstanding the outcomes, if a child is born in your house, you have a duty to look after them until they attain the age of maturity,” remarked Odoi.
The DNA testing trend recently gained traction after reports emerged that cosmetics entrepreneur, Michael Kaswuli, commonly known as Samona, had ordered for DNA tests of his 25 children and was inconsolably shocked to discover that only fifteen were actually his biological children.
While defending his argument, Mr. Odoi cited Article 34 of the constitution that provides for the rights of children which include to be cared by two sets of persons, the first being the parent and second is the person legally entitled to provide care, among whose responsibilities include provision of education, health and freedoms from being exploited and social protection.
He said, “DNA testing is more often than not is an entry point for the abuse or denial of those rights. It is an entry point of exclusion from families and those legally entitled to provide for protection of those children. It is an exclusion of provision of health, education and social protection I was talking about.”
Odoi questioned the recent excitement around DNA yet traditionally, African families accepted children to belong to families they were born in, a practice he said provided greater protection and such children enjoyed the same cultural and traditional rights to inheritance as biological children.
“I don’t understand the hullabaloo about DNA testing. More often than not, these children are innocent victims of the promiscuity of their parents, they are products of broken relationships and we ought as a nation to protect them. I think in legislating, we should look at what the constitution focuses on and it is the best interest of the child. That statement alone is recognition of the fact that there is a victim who ought to be protected and that victim is neither the mother or the putative father,” said Odoi.
Reacting to suggestions of having partners accused to paternity fraud to be punished for their crimes, Odoi pointed out that recently, Parliament passed a law that decriminalizes adultery, one of the legal provisions such people could be charged with.
He explained, “Adultery is no longer a criminal offence in Uganda, that would be the only foundation for paternity fraud so how can there be paternity fraud when adultery isn’t any offence anymore and I agree with that position that consensual sex of any form shouldn’t be criminalized. And consensual sex has consequences one of them is giving birth to children.
Odoi described the latest excitement around the DNA testing debate as a misadventure, wondering why someone can adopt a child and learns to love and care for them like their own without knowing their biological parents, but the same responsibility can’t be owed to children of their sexual partner, saying they owe such children some level of responsibility.
The development comes at the time the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry that oversees the Government Analytical Laboratories reported that the number of men seeking for DNA tests had increased with 40 men making such a request in a single week, compared to the past where the agency received three requests in a whole year.
