First Lady faults Murugi over HIV/Aids remarks

First lady Lucy Kibaki Wednesday appeared to court a battle with Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi over her remarks regarding people living with HIV.

Mrs Kibaki took on Ms Murugi over a proposal she floated during a parliamentarians’ seminar that people living with HIV be secluded or confined.

In a statement to the newsrooms Wednesday evening, Mrs Kibaki told the public “to ignore such impractical and and retrogressive public utterances that threatened to erode gains achieved in the fight against HIV.”

She said that over 1.45 million Kenyans currently living with the HIV deserve care, love and compassion and not confinement or seclusion as suggested by the Minister.

“Moreover, the proposal would entail a gross violation of the fundamental rights of individuals to move freely and associate and is contrary to basic human virtues of showing love, care and compassion to those facing health challenges.” 

Noting that she has devotedly been involved in the fight against the pandemic, through the Kenya Chapter of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV, Mrs Kibaki affirmed that confinement not only amount to violation of fundamental human rights but also aggravates stigmatization of infected persons. 

“As a Kenyan who has been centrally involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa, I take great exception to remarks attributed to the Ms Murugi.”  

She said stigmatisation was one of the key impediments in curbing spread of the syndrome due to reluctance by citizens to know their status for fear of social disgrace.

“Stigmatisation, as we all appreciate, has been one of the key hindrances in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  It is one of the main reasons why many people are afraid to see a doctor to determine whether they are infected or not; and to seek treatment if they are infected. Consequently, it makes individuals reluctant to access HIV testing, treatment and care.”  

She said isolation was the worst form of stigmatising AIDS patients.

The First Lady added that the situation would worsen because stigmatisation had thus turned AIDS into a silent killer yet early testing and interventions would enable many people lead normal lives if they adjusted accordingly.  

“Needless to say, the locking up of HIV/AIDS infected people entails their social, physical and psychological isolation which is the worst form of stigmatizing HIV/AIDS.”

She attributed the tremendous achievements realised in reduction of prevailing HIV prevalence to successful campaigns in fighting stigmatisation and eradicating fear among Kenyans to undergo voluntary tests, going public about their status and adjusting their lives accordingly.

“While the overall prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS was as high as 14 per cent in the 1980 and 1990s, the prevalence rate has currently dropped to an estimated 6.3 per cent among those aged between 15 and 64 years.”

“This has been possible because Kenyans are not afraid of undergoing the necessary tests, going public about their status and adjusting their lives appropriately. I, therefore, urge Kenyans to ignore unfortunate proposals that are not only impractical but also retrogressive. We must not erode the gains that we have made in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.”