Court detains man who knowingly infected woman with HIV
Court orders a suspect accused of infecting a woman with HIV Aids to be remanded at Industrial to await a ruling on February 26 on whether his blood samples will extracted for examination at a government facility to establish his status.
What you need to know:
- The charge against the accused is that of deliberate transmission of HIV contrary to Section 26 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act No.3 of 2006 whose maximum penalty is life imprisonment upon conviction.
- The complainant has confirmed that she has been infected with HIV/Aids by the accused.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has applied to have the status of a man charged with knowingly infecting a woman with HIV/Aids be determined to enable appropriate charges to be preferred.
Pressing for samples to be extracted from the accused, a state prosecutor James Gachoka urged Milimani law courts senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi to grant the state’s plea.
“I urge this court to order a specimen be extracted from the man (name withheld) for examination at a government laboratory before a proper charge can be preferred,” Mr Gachoka prayed.
He added, “The charge against the accused is that of deliberate transmission of HIV contrary to Section 26 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act No.3 of 2006 whose maximum penalty is life imprisonment upon conviction.”
Gachoka said police are yet to ascertain the HIV/AIDS status of the accused person.
The prosecutor said a report of the accused status must be established before a trial date can be allocated.
Mr Ochoi heard the offence against the suspect was a serious one since he was accused of infecting a terminal disease to the victim.
Mr Gachoka said once the status of the accused person is known “then chances of amending the charge are high.”
Earlier Mr Gachoka had applied to have the case against the accused heard in camera to protect the integrity and image of the victim who is also an adult.
Applying for the case to be heard in camera, Mr Gachoka, furnished the magistrate with an affidavit sworn by the Investigating Officer, one Ms Eunice Njagi who has indicated that the victims’ rights must be taken into account.
Ms Njagi, a crime detective attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, serious crimes unit, disclosed to the court in an affidavit, that the complainant has confirmed that she has been infected with HIV/Aids.
The victim's lawyer and the defence lawyer concurred with the state’s position that the reputation and integrity of the complainant (woman) must be protected.
Mr Ochoi allowed the plea to have the matter to be heard in camera “with a view to protecting the victim.”
The magistrate ordered the accused person to be remanded at Industrial Area Prison until February 26 2024, when he will decide whether the samples/specimen will be extracted or not.
The accused was charged that on diverse dates between October 5 2022 and June 30 2023, having actual knowledge that he was infected with HIV disease, he intentionally, knowingly and willfully had unprotected sex with a woman, knowing the act was likely to infect her with HIV.
The man denied the charge and was remanded in custody until February 26, 2024, for further directions.
