In October, Swaziland's Minister of Health and Social...

In October, Swaziland's Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Phetsile Dlamini presented a Public Health Bill which calls for the death sentence for rapists with infectious diseases. According to a recent police report, 300 girls and women have been raped in the mountain kingdom of some 1 million people since the beginning of the year. Most of the affected females included 22 children aged 7 and below, according to police spokesman Willie Maseko. He says 89 rape cases were recorded in 1998 compared to 522 in 1997 and 506 for 1996. Swaziland is ranked fifth among countries of sub-Saharan Africa hard-hit by the HIV/AIDS scourge. According to the bill, rape convicts who infect their victims with HIV/AIDS, whether knowingly or unknowingly, will face the death penalty in future if the law comes into effect. The same fate would befall persons convicted of other sexual offenses like indecent assault, sodomy and incest that results in their victims being infected with the HIV virus. The rapists can also be forced to compensate the victim with an amount to be determined by the court. The bill also stipulates life imprisonment for people who knowingly suffer from AIDS or who have tested HIV positive and later infect their partners. The House of Assembly has set up a select committee to begin preliminary consideration of the bill and has invited all interested parties to submit recommendations. The Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse director, Khosie Mthethwa, said the organization supports the bill. "This will be a great law and I fully support it. In fact, some people still believe in the myth that when one has a sexually transmitted disease, then he or she has to sleep with someone else so that he can be cleansed of it. This is just unacceptable," she said. But the President of the Human Rights Association of Swaziland, Vulindlela Msibi, strongly criticizes the death penalty, saying any offender should get a reasonable sentence. He urged government to comply with the UN treaties to which Swaziland is a signatory. He said what is important is the protection of human rights in or outside of prison.