‘She’ll nurse me till I die’, as punishment for HIV infection

A THIRTY-TWO-YEAR-OLD man of Lusaka’s Mtendere East township has vowed not to allow his wife to leave him because he wants her to nurse him to his death as punishment for willfully infecting him with HIV.
Christopher Ngoma told the Chelstone local court that his wife, fully aware of her HIV positive status consented to marrying him and should therefore bear the consequence of nursing him as his health continues deteriorating.
“I want the court to order her not to chase me from our home because she is responsible for my deteriorating health condition. I want her to nurse me until death,” Ngoma said.
Ngoma was narrating before Local court Senior Presiding magistrate Hope Mwila in a case in which he sued his wife Justina Phiri 36, of Kalikiliki township for marriage reconciliation.
Ngoma told the court that he married Justina in 2009 and found her with three children already.
He said that he tried on several occasions to formalise their marriage but that Phiri refused to allow him meet her family.
After a year, Ngoma said they failed to convince her and so he requested Phiri to allow him have a child with another woman.
“In 2011, Phiri said she had no problems with me marrying a second wife. I went ahead and married my second wife with whom I have a child with,” Ngoma said.
Ngoma said he later discovered Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in one of Phiri’s jackets in their bedroom.
“When he confronted her, she told the drugs were pain killers and that the doctor only used an empty ARVs container to store her drugs. A few months later, I found a paper showing results for an HIV test and this time she had no answers for me,” he said.
He said the situation has complicated things for him as he has now failed to disclose his HIV positive status to his second wife who he fears he might have unknowingly infected.
But Phiri said Ngoma has neglected her ever since he married his second wife. She said she has nothing to do with Ngoma’s HIV positive status and as such should sort out his issues with his second wife.
The court adjourned the case for judgment pending the appearance of the second wife to court.

Daily Mail