Court awards sh190m to man misdiagnosed with HIV for seven years

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The Jinja High Court has directed The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) to compensate a man who was mistakenly diagnosed as HIV positive and placed on antiretroviral therapy for seven years.

In a ruling dated February 18, 2026, Justice Joanita Bushara noted that TASO acted negligently by failing to conduct confirmatory tests before enrolling the man on lifelong HIV treatment.

John Wataka, through his lawyer Pheobe Tumwebaze, told the court that the wrongful diagnosis and prolonged medication caused him immense harm, including the breakdown of his marriage, loss of employment, social stigma and severe psychological distress.

Court heard that the plaintiff was first tested in 2016 and informed that he was HIV positive. He was immediately initiated on antiretroviral therapy and continued taking the medication for seven years.

According to court records, in 2016, Wataka voluntarily attended TASO Jinja for HIV testing, where he was informed that he was HIV positive and was immediately enrolled on antiretroviral therapy. The documentary record confirms that the plaintiff was registered by the defendant under number JIN:1604268.

He relied entirely on TASO’s expertise and took the medication diligently for seven years. In 2022, when he sought to access NSSF benefits under a scheme for HIV positive persons, the fund conducted independent tests, including Polymerase Chain Reaction testing, and the results returned HIV negative.

He subsequently sought further testing at MBN Clinical Laboratories, where the results again confirmed negative serology findings.

In her ruling, Justice Bushara observed that the plaintiff had endured seven years of unnecessary medication, loss of marriage, loss of employment, social isolation and psychological trauma. She described the injuries as profound violations of dignity and personhood.

Bushara explained that, according to evidence from the defendant, following the 2016 diagnosis, he experienced persistent adverse reactions to antiretroviral therapy, including excessive sleep, dizziness, weakness and inability to perform his duties as an askari and storekeeper.

“He stated that he reported these symptoms at TASO reviews, but was consistently advised to continue medication. This account is supported by the defendant's counselling records, which note complaints of side effects and functional decline,” she stated.

She noted that TASO negligently diagnosed Wataka as HIV positive in 2016 and also negligently dispensed antiretroviral therapy to the plaintiff from 2016 to 2023.

She awarded general damages of sh140m, aggravated damages of sh50m and interest on the total award at 10 percent per annum from the date of judgment until payment in full. Costs of the suit were also awarded to the plaintiff.

She noted that this case illustrates the peril of substituting protocol for professional conscience. Guidelines are servants of medicine, not its masters. When a person's liberty, family life and identity are at stake, a specialist institution must exercise vigilance beyond the routine. The plaintiff entrusted his life to the defendant, and that trust was betrayed by systems that valued procedure over person.