A domestic dispute has attracted attention in Mbarara after a woman reportedly fled a clinic following a DNA paternity test that showed her husband was not the biological father of their youngest child.
Edwinlive Nuwasiima and her husband, Bylton Mugizi, had gone to MBN Clinical Laboratories to establish the paternity of their four children after years of disagreements in their marriage.
According to a report by Pulse Uganda on Friday, the couple have been together for six years. The DNA results indicated that Mugizi was the biological father of three of the children but excluded him as the biological father of their youngest daughter, aged two and a half.
Nuwasiima reportedly left the clinic and ran down the street after the results were presented, with Mugizi following her. He later attempted to get her into their vehicle, saying he wanted to take her to her parents, but she refused.
Nuwasiima rejected the DNA findings and maintained that Mugizi was the girl’s father, according to the report. She also accused her husband of having relationships with other women and suggested that some of the women had bewitched him.
The dispute reportedly followed longstanding disagreements between the couple. Mugizi also accused Nuwasiima of mismanaging businesses he had established for her, including a salon that he alleged she sold without informing him. The allegations about the businesses could not independently be verified.
The couple’s parents had reportedly intervened several times in an effort to resolve their marital disagreements, but without success.
Paternity tests increasingly becoming a family issue
The incident comes amid growing attention to DNA paternity testing in Uganda.
In September 2026, the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) told Parliament that an increasing number of men were undergoing paternity tests and seeking guidance on what to do when DNA results exclude them as the biological fathers of children already registered in their names.
NIRA Executive Director Rosemary Kisembo told Parliament’s Committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises that men who discover through DNA testing that they are not the biological fathers of children registered in their names can have the parentage information on birth records changed free of charge.
The issue has also drawn warnings over the emotional and social consequences of paternity testing.
In July 2025, Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson Simon Mundeyi said the Government Analytical Laboratory had recorded a surge in men seeking paternity tests. He said 98 percent of the paternity tests conducted there were returning negative results, meaning the tested men were excluded as the biological fathers.
A 2025 report by The Independent also documented how the growing availability of DNA testing has contributed to disputes within Ugandan families, including cases involving marriages, inheritance and divorce. The report noted that traditional and religious leaders have urged families to handle paternity disputes cautiously because of their potential to destabilise relationships.
The Mbarara incident has since generated mixed reactions online, with some social media users making light of the dramatic sequence of events, while others have criticised the public exposure of the couple’s private dispute and raised concerns about the potential consequences of publicly shaming either spouse.
The incident also highlights the difficult decisions families can face when DNA evidence conflicts with long-held assumptions about parentage.
