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As we have said here many times before, whatever you do and or say online will be used against you in a court of law when the case arises. In this situation, Mr X (Name hidden for privacy reasons) was fined by Kenyan law courts KES 900,000 for sharing someone else’s HIV Status on a WhatsApp group.
Fine For HIV Status Revelation on WhatsApp
As reported by iFree, On May 7th 2021 the HIV and AIDS tribunal heard a case where Mr X disclosed the HIV status of a fellow Mr Y. This was as a result of a political discourse that got heated.
On May 14, 2019, Mr Y expressed divergent political views from Mr X. Mr X went into an angry rant in native Dholuo and alleged that Mr Y was HIV positive. Mr X was advised to take the post down and apologise. However, he instead said that Mr Y is free to go to court with the matter.
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This then culminated in a case filed at the tribunal on November 27, 2020. The seven-member tribunal led by Hellen Namisi found Mr X in violation of the law. This is following the disclosure of Mr Y’s status whether real or not. Especially without his consent in addition to discriminating against him.
Mr X is now going to pay KES 900,000. KES 400,000 being compensation for the unlawful disclosure. The KES 500,000 is to compensate him for damages and trauma because of the disclosure.
The law in Article 31 of the constitution is very clear that everyone has a right to confidentiality regarding personal information. Be mindful if what you say and who you say it to.
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