Relationship and family matters commentator Dr Salina Jelimo Wekesa has stirred debate after urging Kenyan men to stop pursuing DNA tests and instead continue raising children they have brought up as their own.
Speaking on the Obinna Show Live, Wekesa said men who want peace in their families should let go of suspicions about paternity and focus on raising the children under their care.
“Ninataka ambia wanaume kabisa ukweli Kenya hii, kama munataka tuishi kwa amani, mambo ya DNA, mambo ya kususpect ni kama mtoto si yangu, achana nayo,” she said.
Wekesa argued that once children are under a man’s care, he should raise them without constantly questioning their biological paternity.
She also suggested that women are better placed to know the fathers of their children, while challenging men to consider whether they themselves are certain about their own biological fathers.
“Na hata wewe mwenyewe mzee, are you sure huyo ni baba yako?” she asked Obinna during the conversation.
When asked who should take the blame if a DNA test reveals that a child a man has been raising is not biologically his, Wekesa maintained that no one should be blamed.
Her comments, however, drew criticism from some men on social media, who challenged her argument.
One commenter, @Travis Joseph, appeared to turn the argument around, telling women that if men are expected to accept children whose paternity is uncertain, they should similarly be prepared to accept co-wives.
“Na nyinyi mkitaka tuishi na amani, kubali bibi wa pili kwa nyumba,” he wrote.
Another user, @marcnight, challenged Wekesa’s suggestion that men may not be certain about their own biological fathers.
He argued that uncertainty surrounding his own paternity would not stop him from seeking certainty about his children.
“Mambo ya kujua baba yangu sijui, lakini wangu lazima nifanye DNA kila mwezi,” he wrote.
Wekesa’s comments come amid renewed debate in Kenya over DNA testing, particularly whether men should seek biological certainty or preserve relationships with children they have already raised.
The debate has gained further attention following the controversy surrounding social media personality Ciggie Johnson and a DNA test involving a child he had been raising.
The matter has sparked heated discussions online, with Kenyans taking opposing positions on what should matter most when DNA results challenge long-held beliefs about fatherhood.
For some, biological truth cannot be ignored. For others, fatherhood is about more than genetics, including the years spent loving, providing for and raising a child.
Wekesa’s comments have added another dimension to the debate, with social media users continuing to weigh in on whether knowing the truth brings peace or opens another chapter of family conflict.