Certains Camerounais ne se limitent plus aux simples déclarations de leurs conjointes leur annonçant l’arrivée imminente d’un nouveau-né dans la famille. Pour néanmoins rester en cohésion avec sa compagne, chacun de ces citoyens prend généralement ses responsabilités dès les premières visites prénatales jusqu’à l’accouchement. C’est bien après qu’il cherche à se rassurer s’il est effectivement parent de l’enfant qui vient de naître.
This practice is not only common among unmarried couples but also in families where both spouses are married according to Cameroonian civil law regarding marriage. The reasons cited vary from person to person, with one common point of convergence: avoiding being duped by women, as seems to be the case with Georges Ebanga, a resident of Yaoundé’s Tsinga neighborhood: «The women have become too clever. For a single pregnancy, certain women attribute paternity to multiple men in order to make money. And I decided to verify everything because I’m willing to pursue legal action against anyone who tries to deceive me», he said.
Around the same neighborhood, we met a victim of this deception: «I lived for 12 years with an adopted child that I thought was mine. One day, her mother brought him to his real father. I swear, I almost had a breakdown. That’s why I decided to have a paternity test on every child that someone attributes to me», he said.
The paternity test is not well received by all Cameroonians who still view it as an Western practice that goes against traditional African values which would want the child to belong to their entire community, rather than just their parents.
