Kenyan entertainer Eddie Butita has offered his perspective on paternity testing following widespread public debate over family lineage and DNA results. His comments follow recent news involving Kenyan club host Ciggie Johnson, who discovered through a paternity test that he is not the biological father of his 12-year-old daughter.
Traditional Practices versus Hospital Tests
Reacting to the ongoing discussion, Eddie Butita expressed astonishment at how paternity uncertainty could persist over many years. He questioned the need for hospital DNA tests, contrasting modern medical procedures with traditional customs practised by the Luhya community.
“Hiyo stori ya DNA inanishangaza sana. Ati mtu anaweza kuwa na mtoto for all those many years na hajawahi jua. Kwani how do you work?” he questioned.
“Kwa Waluya kitu kama hiyo haiwezi happen ju waluhya first of all mtoto mdogo anafaa aende kwenu aogeshwe na aunti yako ama mama yako hiyo kitu akifanyiwa kama si mtoto wako Waluhya wanajua."
Traditional Identification Methods
According to Butita, traditional Luhya practices rely on family involvement rather than medical laboratories. He explained that a young child is customarily taken home to be bathed by an aunt or a mother.
He maintained that family members can identify whether a child belongs to the family lineage during these customary routines. Consequently, he argued that formal hospital paternity tests are unnecessary for Luhya families:
"So there are some common things that luhyas do that automatically fits to be DNA that do not need a paternity test in hospital.”
On 3 October 2026, Ciggie Johnson published a viral video online featuring a recorded phone call with the child's mother. In the recording, Johnson confronted her after receiving DNA test results that excluded him as the biological father. He had taken full financial and parental responsibility for the child since her birth.
For over a decade, Johnson financed the child's daily expenses, rent, and school fees under the belief that she was his biological daughter. During the recorded phone call, the mother expressed her own surprise at the test results, stating that she had expected a positive outcome.
The reveal triggered intense discussion across Kenyan social media platforms regarding parental trust and responsibility.
The situation involving Ciggie Johnson has highlighted the financial and emotional consequences of long-term paternity disputes. After 12 years of continuous care and financial commitment, the unexpected test outcome has left public opinion divided.
