Living with HIV/Aids in prison

By Harold Ayodo

As Joseph Emoseli queues to be served lunch at Nakuru Prison, he is sure of getting at least six pieces of meat and a glass of milk.

An hour before lunch, Emoseli, together with 32 other inmates in the facility, had taken a cup of nutritious soup. The inmates are also sure of getting a bigger ration of sukuma wiki and ugali, the prison’s main diet.

Their bowls are rusty like all the others, but they are nearly double those of other inmates so that they can accommodate more food.

This small group receives special treatment because they suffer from HIV and Aids and have accepted to openly declare their status.

Some of the ‘special’ inmates were bedridden a few years ago when antiretroviral drugs were not easily available in prisons. But after the drugs were made available to them and they were given special diets, the sick inmates became healthy.

Positive isolation

However, the special diet to some of the 2,283 sick inmates at the facility was a dream until recently.

The prisoners who went public on their HIV status in the prison were recently isolated from their healthy counterparts to receive special treatment.

"I am sometimes served with too much food that I cannot finish," Emoseli says.

Emoseli, who is serving an eight-year-jail term for robbery, says the special diet has helped him stay healthy despite suffering from Aids.

"I never imagined that I would live this long when I learnt of my HIV and Aids status five years ago while in jail," he says.

Patrick Murunga, a 32-year-old remandee facing robbery with violence charges, says he discovered he was HIV positive two years ago.

"I thought I would not complete the process of my trial after I tested HIV positive in 2007," Murunga says.

Harsh realities of life in the correctional facility ran through his mind, making him fear he wouldn’t live for long.

"My attitude changed after we were kept in one prison ward, put under medication and given a special diet as prescribed by doctors," Murunga says.

The prison authorities occasionally give them fruits.

"Medics from the Nakuru Provincial General Hospital say we need fruits daily, but the warder in charge says it is unmanageable," Murunga says.

Murunga, who is the representative of HIV prisoners, says they rely on fruits from relatives.

The inmates spend most of their days basking in the sun and playing games like chess and cards since they are exempted from hard labour.

The prison’s deputy officer in charge Mr John Kamau says they cannot send them to work.

VCT services

"Some are weak or occasionally suffer attacks and get bedridden despite drugs and special diet," Kamau says.

He says the prison encourages the inmates to know their status and invites voluntary counselling and cesting (VCT) experts.

"Several are tested but we cannot force them to declare their status…we only offer specialised treatment to those who declare their status," Kamau says.

Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) administration of justice program advocacy officer Lenson Njogu says they monitor the condition of the ‘special’ inmates.

"We ensure that the HIV and Aids infected prisoners and remandees are accorded humane treatment," Njogu says.

He says the foundation ensures that correctional facilities abide by the Prisons Act when dealing with sick inmates.

"We insist that inmates and remandees must not be denied their constitutional rights due to their state of health," Njogu says.

The prisoners, however, confess that they dont know how their families are coping.

They say it is a nightmare to imagine possible rejection by their families if they know of their status.

Murunga, who is a father of three, says he would be happy to inform his wife.

"I tested positive after I was brought to prison two years ago and I have not been in contact with my family since," Murunga says.

Emoseli, who is also a father of three, says he learnt his status while in Naivasha Maximum Prison before he was transferred to his current station.

"I cannot tell whether my wife knows her status since I have had no opportunity to advice her to visit a VCT centre," Emoseli says.

Emoseli, who will complete his jail term in 2012, was found guilty of robbery on July 30, 2004.

The script is the same for Jackson Ekali, 49, who is serving eight years after he was convicted of robbery.

The big dilemma

"I was sentenced on July 29, 2004 and I knew my status in 2005. I was placed on ARVs a year later," Ekali says.

Ekali, who has eight children, says he cannot tell how he contracted the disease. Though he is able to access ARVs and proper diet, his biggest worry is his family.

"The improvement of my health has shown that infected people can live long so long as they take drugs and eat well," Ekali says.

The irony in prison is that healthy inmates envy their HIV and Aids positive counterparts because of the preferential treatment they get from the administration.

"We give them the first priority whenever we receive charity in form of bedding, food and books," Kamau says.

Murunga says their relocation to a separate ward is good because they encourage one another.

"There are occasions when some of us tend to give up on life, especially at night, and we give each other hope," Murunga says.

Murunga says they lecture their non-infected colleagues on the importance of being faithful.

"We tell those who are about to be released to be faithful to their partners," Murunga says.

"We are usually taken for medical check-ups twice a month and during emergencies – especially late into the night," Ekali says.

"We are a prison but we try our best to provide what we can to HIV/Aids infected inmates for them not to give up on life," Kamau says.

Kamau says the warders are under instruction to be vigilant on inmates who may abuse their infected counterparts.

"We are trying to keep them away from stigma and make them know that we are a family despite the sentences and trials in court," Kamau says.