The HIV and AIDS Tribunal has ordered a city pastor to pay his former wife Sh900,000 in damages after finding that he unlawfully exposed her HIV status to third parties, causing her psychological trauma.
The Tribunal awarded her Sh500,000 for unlawful disclosure and Sh400,000 for psychological trauma
The Tribunal led by its chairperson Carolyn Mboku also barred the man from further disclosing the woman’s HIV status, declaring that his actions violated the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act.
“A declaration be and is hereby issued that the disclosure of the claimant’s HIV status by the respondent was wrongful and unlawful and amounts to violation of provisions of Section 22 of the HIV and AIDS Prevention Control Act,” Mboku ruled.
In its judgment, the Tribunal found that the former husband, who is a preacher and clinical psychologist, had disclosed the woman’s HIV status to third parties during their marriage, including in the presence of family members.
The woman, identified in court papers as L.G.G., had accused her former husband, G.M.M., of repeatedly humiliating her over her HIV status, including allegedly announcing to a church congregation that she was HIV positive.
One of the witnesses told the Tribunal that she attended a church service in 2012 when the man allegedly addressed the congregation and declared: “She is positive and infected with HIV.”
Another witness, who was the woman’s neighbour, testified that the man would publicly shout in Kikuyu that “she is sick and she has HIV” whenever he was angry. The Tribunal, however, found insufficient evidence to establish that the man disclosed the woman’s HIV status during the divorce and children’s court proceedings.
It nevertheless found that evidence presented by the woman’s sister, neighbour and a letter from the area chief corroborated the allegations of disclosure during the marriage. “We, therefore, find that witnesses CW-2 and CW-3 have on a balance of probability proved that the Respondent(G.M.M) disclosed the Claimant’s HIV status to third parties,” the Tribunal ruled.
The woman told the Tribunal that her relationship with her former husband deteriorated after she was diagnosed with HIV. She accused him of subjecting her to psychological torture by repeatedly telling her she would die soon because of the virus.
She also alleged that he withheld financial support, denied her property and interfered with her employment because of her HIV status.
“My former husband began to psychologically torture me by repeatedly telling me that I would die soon due to the HIV virus. He also told me and third parties that he would never give me money or property because of my HIV status,” she said. The Tribunal, however, dismissed her claim for economic loss, finding that she had not provided sufficient evidence linking her alleged job termination to the unlawful disclosure.
Although she presented a termination letter dated June 4, 2014, the document did not state the reasons for her dismissal.
On psychological trauma, the Tribunal considered a psychiatrist’s report dated April 24, 2026, which showed that she had undergone psychosocial therapy and experienced suicidal thoughts.
It acknowledged that the divorce and property dispute had also contributed to her mental distress.