Ugandan policeman kills himself, wife after HIV test

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - A police officer killed himself and his wife in the capital Kampala Thursday after finding out he was HIV positive, according to police spokesman.

They left behind three children aged 7, 4 and 3.

“This morning we were left in shock after one of our officers, 37-year-old Sabiti Godfrey, shot his wife Akol Ester Caroline, killing her instantly at Nsambya Police Barracks and also shot himself dead,” Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Emiliano Kayima told journalists.

According to Kayima, the low-ranking officer had been accusing his wife of being infected with HIV and forced her to go for a test. “Unfortunately, when the results returned he was the only infected party which we suspect could have led to this mornings’ demise,” he said.

On Sunday, Sabiti also wrote a will, saying: “I don’t have much to give my children but a piece of land which should be shared or sold and shared equally among my children.”

Kayima said the Uganda police was running a comprehensive HIV program. “The challenge is for the individual to take the first initiative, once an officer finds out he has HIV we provide, counseling, testing and treatment,” he said.

Uganda has an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 7.3 percent with 1.5 million citizens living with HIV. The Uganda National HIV Prevention Strategy 2011-2015 identified stigma as a key driver of the epidemic.

Dorothy Nassolo, communications officer at the National Forum of People Living with HIV Networks in Uganda, told Anadolu Agency the main challenge is ignorance and misconception about the disease. “Suffers think they are going to die immediately, we still have a lot of knowledge gap amongst our people regarding management of HIV,” he said.