Did you know that charged social media arguments that end up in exchange of abuses, including revealing one’s HIV status, can land you trouble?
This is what SM found out. A tribunal has now ordered him to pay close to Sh900,000 to another man for disclosing his HIV status when they engaged in a heated political exchange.
SM engaged PMM in an argument in a Matungu constituency WhatsApp group.
The group is said to have high profile opinion leaders from the area and has up to 220 members.
The incident happened days to the 2022 elections and the discussion was about politics, and it appears the two were from different sides.
At height of the exchange, SM publicly posted on the group that PMM was HIV positive, saying that “kwani hana…PM ni mwathirika wa ukimwi.”
PMM sued, complaining that after the post, he felt humiliated and suffered shame and odium as well as psychological distress that saw him seek counselling services.
“The claimant testified that the above captioned statements allude that he has HIV and as a result of the comment he has faced mockery, discrimination, psychological torture and has undergone counselling,” court papers say.
He also sought a court order to stop SM from disclosing his HIV status again, discriminating against him, stigmatising and/or harassing him.
The complainant also sought a declaration that the man infringed on his rights by the disclosure and wanted damages for the impairment of dignity, emotional, physical and psychological suffering. He also sought that the Sh3,000 he paid for counselling be refunded.
SM was served with a summons to enter appearance and the statement of claim and was equally of the hearing date but he failed to enter appearance and defend himself.
The HIV Tribunal said that it was regrettable that despite much advancement, people living with HIV were still subject of societal discrimination, abuse and stigma and this has made them to guard their privacy with all they have and the law must support them.
“Despite scientific advancement in the prevention, care and treatment of HIV and Aids, people living with HIV still experience stigma and discrimination. This causes them to jealously guard the privacy relating to their HIV status. Disclosing one’s perceived status without their consent is tantamount to violation of one’s right to privacy,” the tribunal ruled.
“The resultant effect is more often than not stigmatisation and discrimination of the person in social spaces, which may result into emotional and psychological trauma.”
The panel held that PMM’s rights were violated by the post and the “disclosure of the [his] 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.”
PM was awarded Sh350,000 for the unlawful disclosure of the status.
He was also given Sh500,000 “for the impairment of dignity, emotional, physical and psychological suffering” by the post.
He was awarded the Sh3,000 in special damages as he had sought.
The decision was rendered by the panel in August last year.