Tabu Butagira
1 October 2007
Kampala — THE Assistant US Global Aids Coordinator, Mr Jimmy Kolker, has expressed worry that President Yoweri Museveni's remarks that "dying of Aids is treason" could trigger public stigma against persons living with HIV/Aids.
In a September 28 e-mail to Daily Monitor, Mr Kolker, who once served as US ambassador to Uganda, said it was "excellent" to pursue Mr Museveni's comments to ensure that they "do not contribute to stigma, misunderstanding and divisions".
While addressing Student Guild Council officials from 12 Ugandan universities at UMA conference hall in Kampala on September 24, Mr Museveni compared contracting HIV/Aids virus to treason. Treason is a capital offence punishable by death under the Ugandan law.
In the past, anti-Aids activists the world over have steadfastly extolled the Ugandan leader's unwavering commitment to fight the deadly scourge and offered him a number of coveted awards for his shinning performance.
Through Mr Museveni's personal stewardship, Uganda pursued the Abstinence, Being faithful to a sexual partner and correct and consistent use of Condoms advocacy campaign and the ABC model enabled the country to drastically cut back national HIV prevalence from double digits in the early 1990s down to the 6.4 per cent today.
"We do cite Uganda's (HIV) success stories and the President's role in them," wrote Mr. Kolker who was due to leave Washington at the end of September to take up his new assignment as head of Unicef's HIV/Aids office in New York today.
"We need him (Museveni) to remain a spokesman for the positive messages needed to prevent Aids and mobilise people to continue the fight for the affected," he added.
Mr Museveni said at the Lugogo conference that most youths in Uganda get ruined by "running after women and men".
"Instead of being an asset, you become a burden (when you get infected). And afterwards, they announce (over the radios) that he died after a very long illness...is that not treason?" he asked the muted audience. Mr Frank Mutagubya, in a complaint published in the Daily Monitor on Friday, said the President's words were in bad taste and discriminative against people infected and affected by Aids.
"I can imagine their (comments') impact on the suffering poor patients agonising with pain on bare hospital floors without drugs to sooth the pain," Mr Mutagubya said of the country's skeletal medical facilities.
However, leading HIV/Aids activists in the country have not publicly responded to the President's remarks that could potentially ignite stigma to persons living with HIV/Aids and compromise openness towards helping those infected and affected by the pandemic.
Worse still, it could discourage HIV positive people from declaring their sero-status and seek medical assistance for fear of being stigmatised - a saddening re-enactment of the derogatory treatment of Aids patients in the 1990s.
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