News / Regional
HIV infection man out on bail
21 Jan 2016 at 05:35hrs | Views
AN HIV-positive Gwanda man who was jailed for eight years in August last year for deliberately infecting his wife with HIV has been granted $100 bail pending appeal by the Bulawayo High Court.
The 42-year-old man, who was employed as a driver at Blanket Mine, was taking anti-retroviral (ARVs) without the knowledge of his wife, a nurse, whom he deliberately infected with HIV.
He was convicted by Gwanda regional magistrate, Joseph Mabeza, and sentenced to eight years in prison, with three years being suspended conditionally.
The man was also cautioned and discharged for physically abusing his wife after she found out his secret.
But the man - who cannot be named for legal reasons - through his lawyer, Kingdom Dube of Shenje and Partners, approached the High Court challenging his conviction and sentence. He was recently granted bail by Justice Nicholas Mathonsi.
He was ordered to stay at his alternative address in Lobengula West in Bulawayo and report once a fortnight at Magwegwe Police Station as part the bail conditions.
In court papers, the man said his application had prospects of success on appeal and he was not a flight risk. He also said he was a breadwinner and was of ill health with his life depending on medication.
Regional prosecutor, Johannes Tlou, told the lower court the man and his wife got married sometime in August 2013 and they started having sexual intercourse.
On February 3, 2014, the wife went for an HIV test and the results came out negative.
"On September 4, 2014, at around 8AM, the complainant was cleaning the house when she opened a drawer in the wardrobe and discovered a packet of cotrimoxazole and anti-retroviral drugs which were hidden under her husband's cap.
"The complainant asked her husband why he had not revealed to her that he was taking ARV tablets. The man told her that she was invading his privacy," Tlou told the court.
The court heard that on September 9 the same year, the woman proceeded to a Family Planning Centre where she was tested for HIV and the results come out positive.
The 42-year-old man, who was employed as a driver at Blanket Mine, was taking anti-retroviral (ARVs) without the knowledge of his wife, a nurse, whom he deliberately infected with HIV.
He was convicted by Gwanda regional magistrate, Joseph Mabeza, and sentenced to eight years in prison, with three years being suspended conditionally.
The man was also cautioned and discharged for physically abusing his wife after she found out his secret.
But the man - who cannot be named for legal reasons - through his lawyer, Kingdom Dube of Shenje and Partners, approached the High Court challenging his conviction and sentence. He was recently granted bail by Justice Nicholas Mathonsi.
He was ordered to stay at his alternative address in Lobengula West in Bulawayo and report once a fortnight at Magwegwe Police Station as part the bail conditions.
Regional prosecutor, Johannes Tlou, told the lower court the man and his wife got married sometime in August 2013 and they started having sexual intercourse.
On February 3, 2014, the wife went for an HIV test and the results came out negative.
"On September 4, 2014, at around 8AM, the complainant was cleaning the house when she opened a drawer in the wardrobe and discovered a packet of cotrimoxazole and anti-retroviral drugs which were hidden under her husband's cap.
"The complainant asked her husband why he had not revealed to her that he was taking ARV tablets. The man told her that she was invading his privacy," Tlou told the court.
The court heard that on September 9 the same year, the woman proceeded to a Family Planning Centre where she was tested for HIV and the results come out positive.
Source - chronicle
