Nakibuuka Noor the Deputy Executive Director CEHURD has called upon Pastor Ssempa to urgently withdraw the stigmatizing statements and apologize to people living with AIDS as it was ruled by the Equal Opportunities Commission Court.
In 2019, the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) lodged a complaint against Pastor Martin Ssempa on grounds of discrimination and stigmatization against people living with HIV and AIDs based on posts he made on his X (formerly Twitter) page.
“Beauty Contest of the prettiest girl with HIV is a campaign to sexualize and make normal having a deadly and contagious virus. Stigma is necessary to discourage non infected from getting it” Pr. Ssempa’s message read.
The out spoken pastor made this post at the eve of the 2019 Y+ pageant organized by Uganda Network of Young People Living with HIV/AIDS (UNYPA) to eliminate stigma from young people living with the disease.
This according to CEHURD wasn’t an appropriate message from a cadre like Ssempa who is a religious leader, father, husband and advocate, so they needed to stop this stigmatization and discrimination by seeking justice in court.
“While in court, we indicated that what the pastor posted was against the laws of the country, we demanded that he pulls them down and apologizes to the offended. Court agreed with us on September 23 that Pr. Ssempa shall at all times comply with the provisions and laws while addressing issues pertaining to HIV/AIDS” Nakibuuka highlighted.
Nakibuuka made these remarks while addressing Journalists at UNYPA head office in Kampala on Friday.
In her remarks, Nawanyaga Gloria a Human rights lawyer thanked court for this ruling highlighting that stigma and discrimination should have no space in any community because under the law everyone is equal.
“I believe that this was a right decision by court, I agree that Pr. Ssempa’s actions were stimulating stigma and discrimination, and I continue to discourage people who are still doing this using social media,” Gloria asserted.
“I also encourage different stakeholders out there to stop the stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS especially on social media because if it’s not tackled urgently the outcome will be unbearable,” she added.
Currently, HIV prevalence amongst adolescent girls and young women aged 15-29years is more than double than that of boys and also the rate of new infections remains high amongst adolescent girls than boys.
Since 2014, UNYPA has been organizing a unique campaign dubbed Y+ Beauty Pageant aimed at ending stigma and discrimination relating to HIV by empowering young people with knowledge and advocacy skills that enable them lead the fight against stigma.
In addition, the Y+ Beauty Pageant gives a platform to young people living with HIV to be voices to the voiceless, pillars of boldness and strength to those still afraid of HIV testing plus uplifting their plight.
Ruth Awori the Executive Director UNYPA noted that this year as they are celebrating 20 years of existence, the celebrations will run under the theme “20 years and progressive” to highlight the achievements registered in these years of service.
“This year’s celebrations will include activities like community health camps in areas of Makindye, Kawempe and Nakawa, blood donations, free legal advice, HIV screening and testing amongst others,” she noted.
The celebrations will be climaxed by hosting a dinner aimed at celebrating the organizations milestones, recognize the outstanding players that have supported their work and also launching the new strategic direction & development plan.