NIRA Executive Director, Rosemary KisemboThe National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has asked men who are victims of paternity fraud to approach the Authority with DNA evidence to correct records on birth certificates free of charge.The appeal was made by NIRA Executive Director Rosemary Kisembo while appearing before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on September 9, 2026, during consideration of the December 2025 Auditor General’s report.“Section 35 of our Act says that upon production to the registration office of DNA tests, we can instantly change the information on the register. It is a free of charge process, change of parentage is a free of charge process,” Kisembo said.Her remarks prompted COSASE Chairperson Muwada Nkunyingi (Kyadondo East) to seek clarification on whether any man with DNA proof can correct the register.“So once you get your results, is there any specific requirement you need? So I can go to any DNA centre, test my children, when I find that some are not mine, I pick this, I deliver to NIRA, is it a process?” Muwada asked.Kisembo said NIRA works with only five laboratories accredited by the Directorate of Government Analytical Laboratories to conduct DNA tests, and these laboratories automatically share results with NIRA.“The client delivers to the government laboratory and the government laboratory automatically sends us a message. All these certified labs send us an electronic message on what they have done. So, whether the client comes or not, we do have the message,” she explained.The discussion was triggered by Muwada, who asked how men can correct records after being issued birth certificates for children later found not to be biologically theirs.“Now, you know, it is a requirement that when a child is born, the man is just told that this baby belongs to you, so a birth certificate is accordingly issued. Now men are told that you are the father of these children, they even bring gifts and also offer names. 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. So, what should the men in this country do?” Muwada asked.On non-scientific cases where parentage is disputed based on looks, Kisembo said Section 35 provides for a cultural correction mechanism where both the former and actual fathers must appear before NIRA.“Section 35 says if you want to do it culturally, the former father and the actual father must both present at NIRA. And the former father must say this is not my child and the other father must say this is my child,” she said.Marriage Registration DropsThe Committee also questioned NIRA on the poor performance of the Marriage Registration function after its transfer from the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) to NIRA under the RAPEX reforms effective October 1, 2024.According to Auditor General Edward Akol, Non-Tax Revenue from marriages dropped by 22%, or UGX 432 million, from UGX 1.94 billion to UGX 1.51 billion, due to limited geographical coverage – mainly concentrated in Kampala – and incomplete IT systems.NIRA had planned to register 31,044 marriages in 2024/25 but only registered 18,617. This included 6,716 faith-based marriages against a target of 11,292, and 2,496 civil marriages in Kampala against a target of 3,168. At district level, only 315 civil marriages were registered against a target of 2,604. For Muslim marriages, 1,689 were registered against a target of 1,704, while customary marriages stood at 740 against a target of 2,496.The Authority also projected to issue 6,060 marriage certifications but issued only 3,634, and 996 Single Status Certificates but issued only 788. It planned 1,740 searches on the marriage register but conducted only 1,384.Death, Birth Certificates DelayCOSASE also raised concern over delayed issuance of death certificates, which affects succession and administration of estates.According to the Auditor General, of 198,464 applications analysed, 177,122 reached printing stage, leaving 1,872 unprinted. Of these, 390 were rejected while 1,482 are pending printing. The average delay from application to printing was 15 days for death certificates and 5 days for birth certificates, with extreme cases taking 306 days for death certificates and 344 days for birth certificates.A total of 19,555 certificates – 16,625 births and 2,930 deaths – had been printed but remained unissued as of June 30, 2025, with an average delay of 127 days and a maximum of 261 days.“The persistent backlog of printed but unissued certificates and pending production cases indicates systemic inefficiencies in the workflow and weak monitoring mechanisms,” the Auditor General noted.The post Paternity Fraud: NIRA Offers Free Birth Certificate Correction with DNA Evidence appeared first on Business Focus.