The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) tribunal has ordered Pr. Martin Ssempa of Makerere Community Church, to pull down posts stigmatizing people living with HIV and AIDS, within 14 days.

This was after the commission found Ssempa guilty of stigmatization after he posted negative comments on social media about the beauty contest for young people living with HIV and AIDS.

The EOC tribunal presided over by Joel Fox Ojuko issued the directive on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at their offices based at Kingdom building in Kampala.

“The respondent shall within a period not exceeding 14 days effectively withdraw any discriminating and stigimatizing statements posted on his Twitter page against the complaint and all persons living with or affected by HIV and AIDS,” Ojuko ordered.

The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) was accusing Ssempa of stigmatizing persons living with HIV and AIDS following tweets concerning the Miss HIV beauty Pageant posted on his Twitter account.

Tribunal Deputy Chairman Joel Cox Ojuko delivering his ruling at Equal Opportunities Commission Tribunal at Kingdom Kampala on Wednesday 27 September 2023.

Ojuko ordered Ssempa to comply with the provisions of the Constitution, the Equal Opportunities Commission Act, the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act, the National Policy Guidelines on ending HIV Stigma and Discrimination and other relevant laws, when addressing issues pertaining HIV and AIDS in Uganda.

The Commission also ordered Ssempa to desist from uttering or posting on social media or the mainstream media any statements that have the effect of causing stigma against people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.

Ojuko, subsequently, directed Ssempa to withdraw any discriminating and stigmatizing statements posted on his twitter page against the complainant (name withheld) and all persons living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.

In his social media post, Ssempa stated, “Every disease must have a stigma to make it undesirable for the uninfected. This competition is trying to make it a desirable disease. I lost both my sister and brother to HIV. It is a deadly disease. This is not to deny that some people who carry the virus are sexy and pretty.”

The commission ruled that Ssempa while expressing his right to freedom of expression prejudiced the right to freedom of association and discrimination for people living with HIV and AIDS.

Ojuko, therefore, said Ssempa cannot be given unlimited latitude to use his Twitter posts on social media as a channel of abuse, promotion and discrimination against persons living with HIV and AIDS, for which there is no demonstrable justification in his tweet which failed on all fronts to prove that the beauty pageant was means of spreading HIV.

The pastor said he would appeal against EOC’s decision at the High Court in Kampala.