Paul Kafeero DNA Debate: Finding father, losing family?

What the report says

The Independent Uganda, citing URN, reported on July 20, 2026, that the court-ordered exhumation of the remains of the late musician Paul Job Kafeero for DNA analysis has reopened a wider Ugandan debate about paternity testing. The article says the process followed an order from the Magistrate’s Court in Mengo and that only three boys and one girl were confirmed as Kafeero’s biological children. Public reaction has been split between those who see the testing as a legitimate route to truth and others concerned about disturbing a grave and reshaping family claims years after burial.

At a Uganda Law Society press briefing, Makerere University Biomedical Research Centre Director Prof. Moses Joloba said DNA can remain usable long after death and is highly reliable when proper procedures are followed. He said accuracy depends not only on laboratory methods but also on sample handling, storage, labelling and chain of custody before analysis.

Legal and rights advocates quoted in the report said the science does not settle the social and legal consequences. Alice Kathleen Lakwech of FIDA Uganda said DNA evidence has become important in disputes over maintenance, custody, succession, inheritance, parental duties and identity, but warned that exhumation should be treated as a last option. Alobo Salome Joyce of UGANET raised concerns that tests may harm children emotionally or be used during inheritance fights.

The case matters beyond Kafeero’s family because DNA testing is increasingly influencing Ugandan court disputes and private family relationships. The Independent’s report frames the issue as a clash between biological certainty, legal rights, dignity of the dead, privacy and the welfare of children.