Africa-Press – Eswatini. Emaswati questioning the paternity of their children will have access to home DNA test kits, which are now available in the country.
Members of the public have, however, been advised against taking the test without undergoing counselling as this could promote abuse and gender based violence.
The public and politicians have recently been vocal about the need for access to affordable DNA testing facilities to determine the paternity of children after a number of people raised concerns about raising children who were not theirs.
This view was also shared by a number of traditional authorities, who made their submissions during the stakeholder engagement on the Marriages Act and Matrimonial Property Act undertaken by the ministry of justice and constitutional affairs House of Assembly portfolio committee last year.
Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, has distanced the ministry from the procurement of the home DNA test kits.
The minister clarified that as much as home DNA tests kits may have made their way into the country, these were not in the government essential medical commodities list.
According to the minister, the test kits were available in the international market and government had nothing to do with such test kits that have made their way into the country.
“There are home DNA test kits in markets internationally and it is possible that somebody brought some into the country. However, these are not in the government essential medical commodities list,” said Nkosi.
In order for members of the public to access the tests, they would have to do so without government’s involvement.
Clinical Psychologist, Ndoniyamanzi Mdlalose, said she was not aware of such and stated that on a psychological aspect, she was against such.
She said this could divide families and cause tension and psychological trauma as the sense of belonging was the third most important aspect of life apart from food and water.
“This could be complicated in our society as there are cultural norms and values as well as customs such as someone’s ancestors and family practices,” Mdlalose said.
She further stated that in most cases, when there was a need for a paternity test, it meant that there were suspicions and taking the test without undergoing counselling could lead to domestic violence and abuse.
“If this is the case, I would like to strongly suggest that people undergo counselling. This could result in rising cases of suicide, murder and gender based violence,” she said.
She said there should be strong consideration for counselling before acquiring the home DNA test kit.
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