Kenya: Minister’s Conduct Unbecoming

Kenya’s Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi has in the recent past made some very unflattering statements. Even her stint at the Gender ministry was marked with controversy as she kept spewing unprintable words from her mouth. But the careless statement she made yesterday at the MPs’ HIV/AIDS workshop in Mombasa is what shocked the whole world. She suggested to the attentive MPs that people who test positive for HIV should be arrested, isolated and locked up, never to be allowed to mix freely with the rest of the community. That is her antidote to stemming the tide of the HIV pandemic. After all, that is what Fidel Castro did in Cuba when he was strong enough. For starters, Kenya is a democratic state with one of the best constitutions and cannot be compared to an authoritarian regime such as Cuba’s.

Still, such utterances can only be made by someone living in Stone Age. The utterances were barbaric to say the least, not to mention that they were callous to the extreme. We condemn such primitive utterances coming as they do at a time when members of the gay and lesbian community are being targeted for murder. When the rest of the world is busy fighting stigma and discrimination, a minister who is well learned has the bravado to call for the seclusion of people suffering from a condition that was discovered 30 years ago.

With such a minister holding a portfolio that includes HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programmes, it is little wonder that she raises no voice when funds meant for ARVs are stolen with impunity.  After all, she would rather those who contract the virus died and forgotten. Currently, Kenya stands the risk of losing its disbursement from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and malaria due to fraudulent activities of the ministry’s officials.

Even though Mrs Murugi has set on a mission of discrimination, it should not be lost on her that HIV does not discriminate. We believe Esther has children and perhaps grand children. Would she recommend that they be isolated should they contract the deadly virus? Perhaps to put it more bluntly, would she allow herself to be isolated should she test positive? What about her husband? Would she be happy to have him isolated in the event that he contracts the virus?

The minister’s utterances clearly show that she is either ignorant or has chosen to trash the Bill of Rights as enshrined in the constitution. What she may not know is that discriminating against those infected by HIV is what leads to more infections as People Living with HIV would be tempted to embark on a revenge mission against a society that discriminates against them.

We would appeal to Aids and human rights activists to organize peaceful demonstrations against this rogue minister and possibly prevail upon the President to relieve her of her duties. Alternatively, fellow MPs should pass a vote of no confidence in her.