Gen Kainerugaba to sponsor fresh Kafeero DNA tests abroad after public outcry

• Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba will fund confirmatory DNA tests in South Africa or the UK.

• Balaam Barugahara announced the move after criticism of the initial DNA findings.

• Mama Fiina, Gen David Sejusa and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa are among those who questioned the results.

• The first DNA exercise found that only four of the 25 claimants are Paul Kafeero's biological children.

The Minister of Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, has said the Chief of Defence Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has committed to support further DNA tests on the late singer Paul Kafeero and his children after the latest findings were rejected by some of the children.

Even observers like Mama Fiina (real name Sylvia Namutebi), former spy chief Gen David Sejusa and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa questioned the results.

"To the Public, thank you for your concern especially Mama Phina ,Gen Ssejusa & many others ! With help from General @mkainerugaba,we shall send the samples to South Africa or UK for confirmatory test and that will be done soon.Thank you for your attention to this Kafeero matter," Minister Barugahara said in an X post, attaching a video of Fiina.

In the video, Mama Fiina urged Barugahara, who was the minister responsible for youth and children affairs when the DNA process began, to send the samples to more advanced laboratories in countries such as South Africa, the United Kingdom and India to remove any remaining doubt.

She argued that confirmatory tests would help reassure the public and prevent tensions among the families involved. She warned that some of the affected children could become distressed if the matter remains unresolved.

The announcement follows widespread debate after DNA results released on June 25, 2026, showed that only four of the 25 people who claimed to be Kafeero's biological children matched the late Kadongo Kamu legend's DNA.

The results were presented at the Uganda Police Headquarters in Naguru by the Government Analytical Laboratory and the Uganda Police Forensic Services Laboratory after a court ordered the exhumation of Kafeero's remains for DNA sampling.

The four confirmed biological children are Thomas Kafeero Schwarzenegger, Simon Peter Kafeero, Benedicto Kafeero and Elizabeth Nagawa. The remaining 21 claimants were excluded by the forensic analysis.

The findings triggered emotional scenes as some of those who failed the tests broke down, while others questioned the outcome despite officials insisting the process met scientific standards.

Among those expressing doubts was Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, who suggested that other members of Kafeero's family could also undergo DNA testing because of the strong physical resemblance between some of the unsuccessful claimants and the late musician. Barugahara responded that three independent laboratories had reached the same conclusion and defended the integrity of the exercise.

Kafeero, one of Uganda's most celebrated Kadongo Kamu musicians, died in 2007 without a will. Disputes over his estate and the identity of his biological children have persisted for nearly two decades, leading to legal proceedings that culminated in the court-approved exhumation and DNA testing.

If the planned confirmatory tests go ahead, samples will be analysed in laboratories outside Uganda in an effort to settle the dispute.