LIRA, UGANDA: The Tekwaro Lango Paramount Chief (Won Nyaci) Eng Dr Michael Moses Odongo Okune has asked parents, especially men to tread carefully on carrying out DNA tests as this could lead to a social explosion.
His Majest Okune says much as modernity through science is dictating the pace of growth and development, parents must find a way of creating and sustaining societal stability and fidelity beginning at the family level.
The cultural leader was speaking to journalists in an interview on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at his offices in Lira City, Nothern Uganda.
‘Imagine a child who has become of matured age now being told the only person he has known as his or her father is being disowned because DNA test has made a pronouncement”, Okune expressed fears.
The acclaimed civil engineer turned cultural chief pointed out that those children will suffer everlasting trauma and stigma, which can end up destroying their lives and future forever.
He advocates for the long-held traditional way of handling such matters where any child born under the roof of a married couple belongs to the family and clan, whether the woman had sneaked out or not.
Eng. Okune also warned couples to remain faithful by avoiding issues that lead to infidelity and avoid messing up their families by rushing to DNA instead of focusing on proper parenting.
“…some of these men(fathers)also have children with some married women, so why do you want to remove the speck from your brother’s eye, before doing so on yours…”, he sounded Biblical.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) paternity testing is the use of DNA profiles to determine whether an individual is the biological parent of another individual. This testing can be especially important when the rights and duties of the father are an issue and a child’s paternity is in doubt.
According to experts, DNA is currently the most advanced and accurate technology to determine parentage. Paternity testing can now be performed while the woman is still pregnant from a blood draw.
The zeal and rate at which men are rushing to the DNA Testing Clinics and Centers in and around Kampala, the capital city of Uganda to find out the truth about the paternity of their children is a cause of concern among some people.
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