Uganda gets DNA testing machine
Jul 24, 2007
FOR $240 (about sh400,000) Ugandan men can now determine accurately whether they are the father of a child. The process involves testing the blood of the mother, that of the child and the suspected father at $80 (about sh130,000) per person.
By Gereson Musamali
and Halima Shaban
FOR $240 (about sh400,000) Ugandan men can now determine accurately whether they are the father of a child. The process involves testing the blood of the mother, that of the child and the suspected father at $80 (about sh130,000) per person.
The results are ready within two weeks, with a 99.9% accuracy rate. This is possible thanks to the Government Analytical Laboratories in Wandegeya, which yesterday launched the first Dioxy Nuclic Acid (DNA) machine in Uganda. It will, among other things, settle disputes over the paternity of children.
Commissioning the machine, Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya said: “If you have a problem between a husband and a wife over who fathered a particular child, this can now be settled here. You do not need to fly to Kenya or South Africa to prove your case.â€
Ugandans resort to DNA tests when the family court is sorting out issues of parentage.
Early this year, Bruno Kiwuwa blocked the wedding of his daughter, Juliet Namazzi, to Ivan Sserunkuma because they belong to the same Ndiga clan.
Namazzi, however, disputed her father’s argument because her mother had informed her that her father was a Mutooro. A DNA test was carried out in South Africa which proved that Sserunkuma was Namazzi’s father.
The machine, which cost sh700m, can also be used for analyzing poisons, identifying murder, rape and defilement suspects and determine the relatives of a dead person. It was funded under the Justice, Law and Order Sector strategic plan.
Commissioner Ally Lugudo, the head of the centre, said already about five requests for DNA tests are received per week from parents seeking to settle paternity disputes. The test, he added, costs $400 in Kenya and $600 in
South Africa.
“With this new technology, we are getting results with precision and certainty.â€
Lugudo said the Police was one of the biggest clients of the centre, as they seek evidence to prosecute criminals, and for verifying handwriting, typescripts and stamps in cases of fraud.
Interior minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, deputy chief justice Laeticia Kikonyogo and solicitor general Lucian Tibaruha were present at the function.
“The centre has been contributing much to the backlog of cases.
“By equipping these labs, we have now done away with inconclusive investigations and speeded up the delivery of justice,†said Tibaruha.
and Halima Shaban
FOR $240 (about sh400,000) Ugandan men can now determine accurately whether they are the father of a child. The process involves testing the blood of the mother, that of the child and the suspected father at $80 (about sh130,000) per person.
The results are ready within two weeks, with a 99.9% accuracy rate. This is possible thanks to the Government Analytical Laboratories in Wandegeya, which yesterday launched the first Dioxy Nuclic Acid (DNA) machine in Uganda. It will, among other things, settle disputes over the paternity of children.
Commissioning the machine, Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya said: “If you have a problem between a husband and a wife over who fathered a particular child, this can now be settled here. You do not need to fly to Kenya or South Africa to prove your case.â€
Ugandans resort to DNA tests when the family court is sorting out issues of parentage.
Early this year, Bruno Kiwuwa blocked the wedding of his daughter, Juliet Namazzi, to Ivan Sserunkuma because they belong to the same Ndiga clan.
Namazzi, however, disputed her father’s argument because her mother had informed her that her father was a Mutooro. A DNA test was carried out in South Africa which proved that Sserunkuma was Namazzi’s father.
The machine, which cost sh700m, can also be used for analyzing poisons, identifying murder, rape and defilement suspects and determine the relatives of a dead person. It was funded under the Justice, Law and Order Sector strategic plan.
Commissioner Ally Lugudo, the head of the centre, said already about five requests for DNA tests are received per week from parents seeking to settle paternity disputes. The test, he added, costs $400 in Kenya and $600 in
South Africa.
“With this new technology, we are getting results with precision and certainty.â€
Lugudo said the Police was one of the biggest clients of the centre, as they seek evidence to prosecute criminals, and for verifying handwriting, typescripts and stamps in cases of fraud.
Interior minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, deputy chief justice Laeticia Kikonyogo and solicitor general Lucian Tibaruha were present at the function.
“The centre has been contributing much to the backlog of cases.
“By equipping these labs, we have now done away with inconclusive investigations and speeded up the delivery of justice,†said Tibaruha.