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| Free DNA test to curb paternity wrangling |
| Monday, 26 November 2012 23:45 |
| The Citizen Correspondents Dar es Salaam. Partners faced with a paternity dispute will be able to settle it scientifically for free by undergoing the virtually foolproof deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) method. This was said yesterday by the Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ms Angela Kairuki when unveiling the new-format Police Form Number 3 (PF3) which is specially tailored to meet the needs of gender-based violence victims. We are of the view that many families cannot afford DNA testing, hence the need to avail the service for free, said the deputy minister at a function that was held at the Karimjee Hall in Dar es Salaam yesterday. Cases of women being beaten on accusation of bearing children that are not their husbands, just as there are men who make girls pregnant and refuse to give child support by denying responsibility. DNA testing, currently beyond the incomes of many Tanzanians, will bring relief to more people once it becomes free. The new PF3 form will have specific sections on rape, aggression and similar vices which dont feature in the forms that are being phased out; they are expected to reduce the time it takes to investigate and prosecute cases of this nature. A recent report by the Government Chemist Laboratory Agency (GCLA) says about 60 per cent of 250 samples submitted for disputed parentage cases in the year 2005/2006 proved that the men in question were not the biological fathers of the children. The cost of DNA paternity testing currently stands at Sh300,000, according to Gloria Machuve, a DNA and Forensic Expert at the GCLA. When we carry out DNA paternity tests, samples must be taken from both parents and the child, with each sample commanding a Sh100,000 fee, Ms Mchuve told The Citizen yesterday. The deputy minister said free DNA testing and the revised PF3 forms will go a long way in reducing violence against women in families, which is still widespread in the country. I am aware that the special desks in police stations have been established to deal with violence against women. This is a commendable move, Ms Kairuki said. The new PF3 will make it easier for victims of gender-based violence such as rape to get prompt treatment in hospitals. The forms will also be used as part of the evidence against gender violence suspects. Said Ms Kairuki: I beseech the police to stick on the rules and regulations when it comes to filling the PF 3 for anything contrary to that would mean playing dice with the lives of people. Speaking during the occasion, the Irish ambassador to Tanzania, Ms Fionnuala Gilsenan, said violence against women was a global problem, so Tanzanian women should not feel ashamed of reporting such cases to the police. Meanwhile the chairperson of Women in Law and Development (WILDAF), Ms Naomi Kaihula, has said despite government efforts to end violence against women, the vice continues to persist. She urged everybody in society to consider it their duty to fight the scourge. Violence against women is bad, not only for their health but for the economy, it pulls down their capacity to work more productively for their families and the nation at large said Ms Kaihula who is also Chadema Specials Seat MP. |
