Prime
Woman stabs husband for infecting her with HIV
A doctor takes a blood sample from a patient . In April 2021, Uganda Aids Commission said there had been reduction in HIV/Aids infections in the country. PHOTO/RACHEL MABALA
What you need to know:
- In 2014, Parliament of Uganda passed a law which made it a crime to willfully and intentionally transmit the HIV virus. Those convicted face up to 10 years in prison.
A 32-year-old man is fighting for his life at Apac Hospital after his wife stabbed him for allegedly infecting her with HIV/Aids.
The victim is a resident of Miciri A cell, Aberidwogo Ward, Ibuje Town Council in Apac District.
Residents claim that the woman, 21, who has lived with the man for the last four years, has been accusing him of infidelity.
It is reported that last week, after testing positive for HIV, the woman started pointing fingers at her husband.
Mr Denis Ocan, a neighbour, said the couple seemed happy and had been together on the fateful day.
“This couple does not have any children. They always move out together and on that day, they went to a drinking joint and returned home,” Mr Ocan said. Mr Abel Oceng, the Miciri A cell chairperson, said the victim had an affair with another woman and the matter had been handled by his office several times.
Mr Christopher Ungu, the officer in-charge of Ibuje Police Station, said the suspect was arrested on Tuesday and was being detained at Apac Central Police Station.
“The cases of domestic violence are very high in this area. I am calling upon other stakeholders to help us so that we can curb this vice which has become a big problem to our community,” he said.
Mr Augustine Okello, the Apac senior health educator, urged people to test to know their HIV status.
“The community should understand that when you are positive it does not mean that you will die tomorrow, but we should know that there is treatment for HIV and when you adhere to the treatment, you can live a very healthy life,” Mr Okello said.
“It is very sad to hear that some couples are fighting because they are suspected to have been infected with HIV. We should learn to tolerate one another,” he said.
Advice
Mr Geoffrey Olwee, the chairperson of Owang, Matimiamor, Bama and Ayom-makagwata persons living with HIV association (OMBAPHA), urged those who are not yet aware of their HIV status to test their blood, saying it help them plan for the future.
“When I tested and was found to be positive, I thought it was the end of the world but later it turned out to be a blessing. It has opened for me many doors and above all, my health is being monitored closely,” he said.
Ms Vivian Kia, a community linkage facilitator at USAID-funded Uganda Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services-North, Lango, said many people living with HIV/Aids are being stigmatised especially in rural areas.
“There are some isolated cases of stigma within the communities where they don’t understand about HIV like recently a family in Atana (Apac Sub-county) informed me that their neighbours are not in good terms with them because they are HIV positive,” she said.
According to Mr Tom Odyambo, the chairperson of persons living with HIV/Aids in Apac, there are more than 10,000 people on HIV treatment in the area.
The incident of someone stabbing a partner on suspicion of infecting them with HIV/Aids is the first of its kind in Lango Sub-region.
In 2014, Parliament of Uganda passed a law which made it a crime to willfully and intentionally transmit the HIV virus. Those convicted face up to 10 years in prison.
