Woman punished for putting man at risk of HIV

The High Court has allowed a man to claim Sh127,000 from his ex-lover for exposing him to HIV and Aids.

Justice Mbogholi Msagha adopted orders issued by the HIV and Aids Tribunal requiring the woman to pay the man for not disclosing that she was HIV-positive when they were together. This was after she failed to appear in court.

"I have heard the applicant (man). The respondent (woman) has been served but is absent. The orders sought are merited," the judge said. "The application is allowed as prayed. The applicant shall have the costs for the application."

The tribunal gave the man Sh127,000 but he complained that his former lover had refused to honour the orders.

The story about the two revolves around a love that blossomed from 2012 but turned sour when the woman opened up that she was HIV-positive.

The couple's love grew to the extent that they agreed to move in together in readiness for marriage.

The man, who never contracted the virus, told the tribunal that they had unprotected sex several times while she was fully aware that she was placing him in danger of contracting the disease.

He sued her in 2014, demanding Sh1.1 million in damages plus interest for causing him psychological and bodily harm.

He said he had gone through an emotional breakdown, psychological and mental anguish after the revelation.

"The case was filed on November 23, 2014, at the HIV and Aids Tribunal. It was heard on April 10, 2015, when the woman said she had willfully exposed the claimant to HIV and Aids by failing to disclose her status at the material time they cohabited with the object of getting him infected with the virus," the court heard.

The man asked the tribunal to find that the woman's acts were in contravention of the HIV Prevention and Control Act, which demands that a person infected with HIV should take protective measures to prevent transmission to others.

The Act reads: "A person who is and is aware of being infected with HIV or who is carrying and is aware of carrying HIV shall not, knowingly and recklessly, place another person at risk of becoming infected with the virus unless other person knew that fact and voluntarily accepted the risk of being infected."