A Mazabuka man has divorced his wife in the local court for taking part in the failed Microbicide clinical trials under the Microbicide Development Programme (MDP) without his knowledge.
Roy Halumba told Mazabuka Local Court Magistrate, Hellen Moonga that the investigations he conducted at MDP established that his wife, Annety Halumba was enrolled under the study as a single woman when she was married to him.
Mr Halumba said he did not support the enrolment of his wife in the clinical trials because they resulted in his wife falling pregnant from another man.
He also told the court that his wife was given a K 20,000 by MDP which he refused to accept on principle.
But his wife, Annety told the court that she registered for the trial at MDP to protect herself from contracting HIV/AIDS since she was in a polygamous marriage.
Mrs Halumba said staff at MDP informed all the participants that the drug had the capacity to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission.
She said although MDP paid her transport refunds, she did not use all the drugs as prescribed but threw them away at times.
Local court Magistrate, Ms Moonga granted the couple divorce.
ZANIS
How do you throw away some drugs? No wonder the trial is a failed one.
Someone please explain this trial to me. What was the trial all about and who initiated and engineered it? What national and international laws govern the selection of guinea pigs? Is Africa (Zambia for that matter) currently positioned to conduct a successful trial on human beings? Why did these reseachers opt to carry out their trial on illiterate rural women? If they thought the drugs were capable of protecting the women from HIV/AIDS, why didn’t they conduct the trial on their wives and daughters?
This sounds like an episode from a local soap bupilo,people should be serious with marriage and family life.Thats why we can’t develop as a country even a simple concept like marriage we fail to manage it.We resort to doing things behind each other ‘s backs shame on this illiterate rural couple.
One foot in the grave for 46 Mazabuka women who contracted HIV/AIDs during the failed clinical trial.
yes LT please spread some more light on this “Microbicide clinical trials”:-w
This whole episode is sad but also a cover up. This was a big project in Mazabuka and Govt was aware about it 100%. It was a project with a lot of money and chaps (yes, in govt), benefited a lot. Even the participants benefited monetary wise. Things have gone bad somewhere along the line and everyone starts to say, “It wasn’t me” or, ” I know Nothing”! What a shame. Let Govt come out in the open because the little facts some of us have about this project are damning. Landenifye ichishinka bane. As for some of the participants who are now positive, please give us a break. In the midst of the project they were busy na ntwenu with even the facilitators of this project!! Nalazala!!![-x
Ba life maker #5, everyone has one foot in the grave… no exceptions. fact.:)>-:-?8-|:o^:)^8-x
Get another wife and go on with your life my man:-c
# Ba Moze, you were frequenting Mazabuka last year….is this what you were going there for? 😕
If Annety is in a polygamous marriage and is one of the participants who did not contract HIV/AIDS, then this divorce could be divine intervention.
#10, Thermometer, you could be truly right
@Life Maker:
“If they thought the drugs were capable of protecting the women from HIV/AIDS, why didn’t they conduct the trial on their wives and daughters?” This is a basic misunderstanding of the scientific method: researchers *never know for sure* whether something will work *before* they do the trial – otherwise why do the trial at all! Also your assumption that all the researchers are male is a) incorrect and b) sexist.