Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New Vision (Kampala) - October 22, 2009
Raymond Baguma
Zebtek Wepukhulu, 44, who knew his status since 1993, pleaded guilty earlier this week to the charges of causing grievous bodily harm to a woman he infected with HIV/AIDS.
The prosecutor said Wepukhulu did not wear a condom and did not disclose his HIV status to the complainant, a 48-year-old widow, when he had sex with her in November 2007.
The Ugandan, who migrated to Australia 17 years ago, is currently out on renewed bail and will undergo psychological evaluation before his December 16 sentencing.
Prosecutor Jeff Sholz said Wepukhulu had befriended the woman, who had fled from Sudan, when she was walking home from the train from her cleaning job.
He had spoken to her in Swahili. "After a short conversation, he offered her a lift home," Sholz said.
A few days later, Wepukhulu met her while she was walking home from the train. He insisted on driving her to her home but instead took her to his home in Perth where the pair had sex.
Sholz said Wepukhulu was fully aware of the risk of having unprotected sex with the woman.
In 2002, the Victorian Department of Health counseled him on condom use after he reportedly had unprotected sex with several women outside his marriage.
Sholz said Wepukhulu had denied the claims at the time but was given comprehensive and clear evidence about the risks of unprotected sex and was told he must practise safe sex. Sholz said his victim was now left with an incurable health condition and needed lifelong medical care.
Wepukhulu's lawyer, William Harris, said his client had expressed "deep remorse".
He said Wepukhulu had serious health problems, including tuberculosis, and was being treated in Melbourne, where he now lived. "He's had a somewhat tragic existence," Harris told the court.
Wepukhulu worked as a juvenile justice officer and child protection officer in Victoria before moving to Perth where he had a full-time job and several children to support. This is the second Ugandan charged with spreading AIDS abroad.
In April, Johnson Aziga, a Ugandan living in Canada, was sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of infecting his two sexual partners.
He was convicted on two counts of first degree murder, 10 counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault.
Nobody in Uganda has been charged with or convicted for spreading HIV/AIDS and there is no specific provision on HIV/AIDS in the Penal Code Act.
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