Corpun file 1084

The Monitor, Kampala, 18 March 1997

Court fines and canes liar

LCs in Hoima have fined a man Shs 10,000 for spreading false claims that a cure for AIDS had been found.

John Mukwenda, 40, known as Gampe (meaning, give me the news) by fellow Bulemwa villagers in Kitoba subcounty, allegedly claimed he heard of the cure on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio news.

The court branded him "a habitual liar" and fined him Shs 10,000 plus 10 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty and begged for forgiveness.

The LCs said Mukwenda could not have heard the news on BBC because he does not understand English or Kiswahili.

It is alleged that after telling his lies to revellers in the village bar, the men went looking for women with whom to celebrate the "death of AIDS."

Next morning, the riled LCs arrested Mukwenda for abetting immorality.

According to the LCs, Mukwenda had caused a panic earlier this year when he claimed to have met a nine-headed snake at the village well.

The LC 1 court warned him against spreading false propaganda in the village again.