Metro, a Swedish Newspaper which profiles itself as the “biggest newspaper in Sweden” has published a story about an HIV positive Kenyan facing an assortment of charges after being accused by his former girlfriend.
The Story, published on Metro’s November 7th edition, is titled “New HIV Man facing charges” with a sub-headline which reads “31 year-old accused by his former girlfriend”.
It says: “He is suspected of rape, attempt at serious mishandling and serious curtailment of a woman’s freedom”. The paper says that the man is 31 years old, lives in Stockholm and was infected with HIV at least a year ago.
“Both police and Prosecutor are very reserved as to whether the suspect has had unprotected sex with numerous women”, says the Paper. Henrik Olander, a police officer could not comment further because “investigations were continuing.
The paper continues that “The woman is 23 years old and has not yet tested positive for HIV but it can take up to twelve weeks from the day of infection before one can see if one has been infected with HIV”.
Petter Sundsten, the Journalist behind the story writes: “The woman, who has one child with the man, said herself during interrogation that she was raped more than 40 times by the 31 year old during the past half a year. She has, in the past, been in touch with the local dispensary after being mishandled by the man but she never reported to police until mid October this year”. The paper adds that the 31 year old has denied the charges.
The story quotes the Kenyan’s Lawyer Peter Skeppstedt who says that the position of the accused is that the charges are faulty because they are based on jealousy after he met another woman.
“The 31 year old has, in the past been jailed for mishandling, violent resistance and having a knife at a public place”, the story says. The case will come up on 16th November, concludes the story.
POINTS TO PONDER AS KENYAN AWAITS TRIAL
The publication of the story in one of the mainstream Swedish media is significant, not just because it raises certain critical issues but because it helps feed debate that erupted among Kenyans soon after the story was published at KSB.
The difference between the story and the KSB story is not on factual presentations but on time factor. KSB appears to have been slightly ahead of the Swedish media and those who have been wondering when the Kenyan went to prison can now take contact with Metro and say that they have been “hanging out” with the Kenyan all through and that Peter Skeppstedt should give dates when the Kenyan went to prison because he has “never disappeared” – holy smoke!
In Sweden, you could be chilling with a guy at Vassa even if he is serving a prison term because prisoners are routinely given vacation to go out and have a good time with friends. You can also serve a prison term by simply having an electronic ring placed around your ankle. Whether or not you get out of prison to meet friends depends on the individual prisoner, the magnitude of the crime, character of prisoner and many other factors. Next time you go chilling, don’t just assume that your mate is a free animal. He/she might be on ruhusa.
Although the Kenyan was never named by KSB, Vincent Odede, a friend of the Kenyan, claimed that it was wrong for the story to have been published at KSB because the “personal details” that followed amounted to defaming the Kenyan.
He also claimed that the details were such that KSB must have talked to someone connected to the Kenyan because in Sweden, there is “tystnadsplikt” (oath of secrecy) among public officers! Now that the story is doing the rounds in the Swedish media, will the likes of Odede take contact with the Journalists in charge or will they learn a lesson or two about Press freedom?
The baseless Odede grumbles aside, what is questionable in the story is the attempt by the Journalist to try and link up the Kenyan with “numerous women” he might have had unprotected sex with. According to court documents, there is no mention that the man has had unprotected sex with many girls and so far the charges are restricted to what his former girlfriend told police.
From the point of view of KSB, the major reason why the media is trying to hook up the “many women” angle is to strengthen the perception that the Kenyan might have consciously tried to infect many women since this is the angle that has been selling among Swedish publics especially in cases where HIV positive Africans are facing charges brought up by Swedish women. Any disgruntled or frustrated HIV positive white Swedish girl who pops up and says she had a relationship with this Kenyan could easily end up being a Prosecution witness!
It is ridiculous that a white Swedish woman could have been raped “More than 40 times” without ever reporting to police, choosing to do so at a time when the relationship was basically over.
It is becoming abundantly clear that charges of HIV infections reported in the Swedish media are coming with the tag of “HIV Mannen” even in cases where it has not been shown that the suspect had infected a huge number of women to warrant such a tag which is reserved for rampaging HIV renegades. These are points to ponder as the Kenyan awaits trial.
Okoth Osewe
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