Fathers who discover through DNA tests that they are not the biological parents of children registered in their names can have the parentage details on the birth records changed free of charge, the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has said.
NIRA Executive Director Rosemary Kisembo made the clarification on September 9, 2026, while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE).
The clarification followed concerns from legislators that many men are undergoing paternity tests but remain unaware of what to do when the results rule out fatherhood after a child has already been registered.
COSASE chairperson and Kyadondo East MP Muwada Nkunyingi said an increasing number of men were conducting DNA tests on their children, with some tests confirming paternity while others ruling it out.
‘You know, when a child is born, the man is just told that this baby belongs to you and they will give the name to the newborn and a birth certificate is accordingly issued in the hospital. Now, with the technology and DNA testing, many times these children are being found not to belong to their father. But the certificate is already issued and this man’s name also appears on this certificate as a father,’ Mr Nkunyingi said.
He said there was a need to clarify how such cases should be handled, particularly where a mother retains the child’s birth certificate after a DNA test has ruled out paternity.
‘We are in a situation where we want to understand how NIRA is going to approach this, the process of changing, because sometimes the women will run away with the birth certificate after DNA is done and the law provides that either a birth certificate or a DNA result is a substantial proof on parentage,’ Mr Nkunyingi said.
He emphasised the need for a clear process to ensure that a birth certificate does not continue to be used as evidence of parentage after a DNA test has ruled out paternity.
How the records are changed
Ms Kisembo said the law already provides for correction of parentage information, citing Section 35 of the NIRA Act, which she said allows the Authority to change information in its registration records upon presentation of DNA results from an accredited laboratory.
‘Section 35 of our Act says that upon production of DNA test results to our registration offices, we can instantly change the information on the register,’ Ms Kisembo said.
She explained that NIRA first verifies the authenticity of the DNA results before making any changes.
‘When a DNA report is presented to us, we have focal persons in those laboratories. We send an email and they verify; they send back an email, verifying that they authored the report before we take a decision,’ she said.
For DNA tests conducted outside Uganda, Ms Kisembo said the results must first be verified through the Government Analytical Laboratory (GAL) before NIRA can act on them.
‘It is true, even foreign countries, there are accredited labs to do DNA. Not every lab does a DNA test,’ she said.
Ms Kisembo said the law also recognises a cultural process for establishing parentage, separate from the scientific route.
She said where parties choose to use the cultural process to change parentage particulars, both the former and biological fathers must appear before NIRA officials.
‘Section 35 says, if you want to do it culturally, the former father and the actual father must both be present at NIRA. The former father must say, ‘This is not my child,’ and the other father must say, ‘This is my child,” Ms Kisembo said.
The issue of paternity has attracted renewed public attention in Uganda following DNA tests involving people who claimed to be children of the late Kadongo Kamu musician Paul Job Kafeero, who died in 2007.
In June this year, DNA tests involving 25 people who claimed to be his children reportedly confirmed only four as his biological children.
Marriage registration concerns
The MPs also questioned NIRA over what they described as limited progress in marriage registration since the responsibility was transferred from the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).
The Auditor General’s 2025 report highlighted gaps in marriage registration for the 2024/25 financial year.
For faith-based marriages, NIRA had targeted 11,292 registrations but recorded 6,716. For civil marriages, the target was 3,168, against 2,496 registrations.
For Muslim marriages, the target was 1,704, of which 1,689 were registered, while for customary marriages, the target was 2,496, but only 740 were registered.
Kira Municipality MP George Musisi attributed the low registration of marriages partly to a lack of awareness, particularly in rural areas. He urged NIRA to work with local leaders to sensitise communities about the requirement to register marriages.
‘When you mention these people who are from the sub-county, what is your relationship with them in terms of supporting them, for instance, through the popularisation in their respective sub-counties? Because for most of our people, it’s just lack of awareness,’ he said.