[Vision2020] Mubita Victim Shares Her Story

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (December 1, 2006) edition of the UI Argonaut -

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Mubita victim shares her story    
Written by Shanna Stalwick -Argonaut     
Friday, 01 December 2006  

Student tells about her relationship with HIV-positive Kanay Mubita 


Denice Wade says she doesn't care if she sounds like a raging feminist. 
She wants her story to empower women to take control of their fate and
practice safe sex.
"A night of carelessness can change your whole life," Wade says.
Her soft voice tiptoes across the graphic details about her encounter with
the HIV-positive Zambian man who is now in prison.

Wade stares into her lap as she watches her hands fold and unfold while she
recalls the deception and lies that unraveled last December.
Within minutes she opens up and reveals why she decided to come forward and
reveal her identity almost a year after meeting Kanay Mubita, sentenced in
May to 44 years in prison for 11 counts of failing to tell his sexual
partners he was HIV-positive before engaging in consensual sex.

Today, Mubita is behind bars, waiting to see if he'll be eligible for parole
in October 2008. Wade is a senior at UI and an activist for UI World AIDS
Day, an annual event that provides information about HIV/AIDS prevention and
treatment that takes place from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. today in the Idaho Commons.
She hopes her close encounter with the HIV virus can serve as a warning to
others to take the necessary safety precautions before having sex.

In January, Wade shared her story with The Argonaut ("Learning safe sex the
hard way," Jan.20) about her relationship with Mubita, but did not reveal
her name. She wanted others to learn from her experience and hopefully act
more carefully in similar situations. Now Wade is ready to shed her old skin
and reveal the woman she has evolved into during the past year. 

"My life has been redefined," Wade says. "When I initially found out about
Kanay, it shook my world."
Last October, Wade met Mubita at a bar and stayed with him at his apartment
for nearly a week before discovering Mubita was not being completely
truthful with her about his past and about who he was.
Wade became suspicious and cut off contact with him before ever consenting
to more than oral sex, a decision that may have saved her life.

Wade testified against Mubita in the preliminary trial. She said it was
difficult and uncomfortable to describe what had occurred between her and
Mubita. Because they only had oral sex, Wade had to go into more detail than
the other women who testified to prove there was transfer of body fluids. 
Wade says she was shocked to discover during the court proceedings that
nearly everything Mubita had told her about himself was a lie. And that what
he failed to reveal could have put her life in jeopardy.
"I felt like I had a connection with someone that didn't even exist," she
says.

When he stood before the judge after he was sentenced, Wade says Mubita made
no apologies. 

"He had no remorse," she recalls. "Some might say it's a cultural
difference. I think he knew."

Wade says she doesn't know if Mubita was intentionally trying to infect
women with HIV, even though North Central Health District of Idaho informed
him of his positive test results in December 2001.

She said the only clue that might have signaled his intentions to infect
others was his refusal to use condoms and that he would claim he did not
need them.

Wade has been tested four times for the HIV virus since learning of Mubita's
condition. All tests have returned negative.

"I don't think of myself as a victim," she says. "I think of myself as a
survivor."

Wade has thrived from this experience and says her "faith in God has been
exponentially increased."

Wade says she no longer allows self-hatred to mar her with insecurities, a
predominant reason why she went home with Mubita that night.
This year Wade has worked closely with Leah Cristaldi to promote UI World
AIDS Day.

Cristaldi heads the planning committee and said she would like to see World
AIDS Day serve as an informational tool to combat some of the common myths
and stereotypes associated with HIV/AIDS and its carriers.

"Be cautious and get tested, use protection and don't feel ashamed about
going and getting tested," Cristaldi says. "That's being responsible to
yourself and your partners. I think that's the key. We really need to
alleviate the fears and all the negative connotations surrounding HIV and
AIDS." 

World AIDS Day began in 1988 and was originally organized by UNAIDS, the
Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. In 2004 the independent
organization known as the World AIDS Campaign took over responsibility and
developed the slogan "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise." The 2006 theme is
accountability, which is meant to inspire people to hold their government
leaders, policy makers and regional health care authorities accountable for
promises they have made in the past to pursue AIDS research and secure
universal access to treatment and support to overcome the AIDS pandemic. 

"I don't think people are as cautious as they should be because people get
these ideas that AIDS only exists in certain parts of society," Cristaldi
says. 
Along with ignorance, Cristaldi speculates that many young adults refrain
from getting tested because they're scared of the potential results. 

"Young people are out exploring sexually and having fun," she says. "Many
aren't in a committed relationship. They're going through various partners
and it's risky."
The planning committee encourages the UI community to show their support by
wearing red, and will distribute red ribbons to those who visit the World
AIDS Day display in the Idaho Commons Food Court Friday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Condoms and AIDS information will also be given out.
Wade says she is ready to move on and hopes her willingness to speak out
will invite others to do the same.

And while her story is bold, Wade knows it's not the only one.
"There's probably at least a thousand other people in this school that have
as strong a story as I do," Wade says. "I think those stories can change
people's lives."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"If not us, who?
If not now, when?"

- Unknown