Manto won't censure Jacob Zuma

2006-05-11 22:20

Cape Town - Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has refused to criticise former deputy president and head of the National Aids Council Jacob Zuma for having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman.

Instead, she has accused the media of sowing confusion.

Zuma was acquitted earlier this week of raping a 31-year-old family friend.

The judge ruled that they had had consensual sex.

However, Judge Willem van der Merwe chastised Zuma for having sex without a condom and for testifying that he believed taking a shower afterward would minimise his risks of being infected.

Media 'sowed confusion'

Zuma subsequently apologised for his behaviour, but Aids activists fear that his comments may set HIV prevention campaigns back by years in a country where up to six million people carry the virus - the highest anywhere in the world.

Tshabalala-Msimang was asked at a media conference on Thursday about Zuma's comments on showering and unprotected sex.

"I am on record as saying that the sector that sowed a lot of confusion is the media," she said. "I stand by what I said."

She said the media "sensationalised" Zuma's comments without reporting on South Africa's prevention strategy.

"We have a strategy and a comprehensive plan in this country.

"We have to stick to that strategy and talk about that strategy. We shouldn't be worried about things on the side," she said.

Tshabalala-Msimang has an antagonistic relationship with journalists and has clashed repeatedly with Aids activists who accuse her of slowing the provision of lifesaving antiretroviral drugs.

'Garlic, olive oil and African potato'

Tshabalala-Msimang says there is too little information about the side effects of the drugs and adherence rates to the treatment regime.

Instead, she espouses the benefits of garlic, olive oil and the African potato.

She said South Africa would speed up its prevention strategy, but would not elaborate on what this would be.

- AP