Elizabeth Kigen, who tested positive for hepatitis B shows ARVs she was giiven during an interview at her home in Koisarat village, Marigat, Baringo County on July 05. JARED NYATAYA (Eldoret).
The High Court in Jinja has awarded Ksh6.82m (Ush190 million) in damages to John Wataka after finding that he was wrongly initiated and retained on HIV treatment for seven years despite being HIV negative.
The Ugandan court heard that Wataka was tested HIV positive by The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) in July 2016 and was immediately enrolled on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ARVs), which he continued taking until 2023.
However, doubts about his status emerged in 2022 when Wataka applied to access his benefits from Uganda’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) under a scheme for HIV-positive persons. Independent tests conducted by the fund returned negative results.
Wataka reported the findings to TASO, which carried out fresh tests that also returned negative.
In its defence, TASO maintained that it followed approved testing algorithms from the Ministry of Health and noted that HIV test kits are not 100 percent accurate.
Court documents further revealed that in July 2021, TASO conducted viral load tests on Wataka — meant to measure the amount of HIV in the body — and the results indicated less than 50 copies per millilitre, suggesting the virus had been detected at the time.
“The case demonstrates the danger of substituting protocol for professional judgment. Mr Wataka entrusted TASO but was ultimately failed by systems that prioritised procedure over the individual,” said Justice Joanita Bushara in her ruling.
Justice Bushara awarded Wataka Ksh5.02 million (Ush140 million) in general damages for enduring unnecessary medication for seven years, losing his marriage, and suffering psychological trauma.
An additional Ksh1.8 million (Ush50 million) was awarded in aggravated damages for negligent diagnosis and dispensing of medication he did not need.
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