/ 14 October 2001

HIV+ MALAWI WOMAN JAILED FOR RAPING BOY (11)

A MALAWIAN court has sentenced a 60-year-old woman to seven years in jail for infecting an 11-year-old boy with HIV, the virus that causes Aids, police said on Wednesday. Police publicist Oliver Soko said the woman, Emmie Nkumbira, forced the boy to have sex with her on August 24. The boy revealed the incident to his parents after developing genital sores, Soko said. Police arrested the woman in Zomba, Malawi’s former capital some 70 kilometres from Blantyre, and took her to hospital where she was diagnosed as having syphilis and HIV. ”It’s likely the boy was infected,” Soko said. The boy’s parents broke down in tears when a court sentencing the woman revealed her infection and HIV status, he added. – Sapa-AFP