Leading the bench of nine judges making up the country’s highest court, Wednesday, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku said he was going to deliver the judgment at a later date to be advised.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights appealed to the Constitutional court soon after its birth in 2012 after two women including Samukelisiwe Mlilo of Bulawayo had been convicted for willfully infecting their partners with HIV.
Presenting their arguments before the constitutional Court, ZLHR represented by Advocate Tabani Mpofu argued that there was no scientific evidence which can prove that the accused person is the one who infected the complainant.
ZLHR also said the words ‘willfully’ and ‘intentionally’ infecting a partner which are in the sections of that law were vague and needed to be fully and clearly explained adding that it was difficult for the courts to arrive at a conviction in the absence of scientific evidence to prove the source of infection.
The Rights lobby group further argued that even a person indulging in sex using a condom can also be convicted if his or her partner accuses him or her of passing the HIV infection because the use of a condom does not guarantee 100% safety.
Editor Mavuto who was standing in for the state defended the law saying that it was created to punish people who were walking around spreading the pandemic.
He said although there was no scientific evidence to prove the source of the HIV infection between two partners the state can reach to a conviction basing on the ‘circumstances’, ‘conduct’ and ‘actions’ of the accused as would have been explained by the complainant and the case.
Part of the law in question state that any person knowing that he or she is infected with HIV ,or realizing that there is a real risk or possibility that he or she is infected with HIV ,intentionally does anything or permits the doing of anything which he or she knows will infect or does anything which he or she realizes involves a real risk or possibility of infecting another person with HIV ,shall be guilt of deliberate transmission of HIV whether or not he or she is married to that person shall be liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years
Post published in: Gender Equality