Two Ugandans run to court after condoms break during sex

Kampala. Two men have sued Marie Stopes Uganda, a non-government organisation that offers reproductive health services, for allegedly distributing defective Life Guard condoms which they claim they used and contracted sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
In their law suit filed before the Civil Division of the High Court, Mr Joseph Kintu and Mr Sulaiman Balinya claim that Marie Stopes negligently distributed the fake condoms which they used thus leading them to contract HIV, a lifetime disease and gonorrhoea respectively.

Mr Kintu claims that in October 1, 2019, he bought a packet of Life Guard condoms batch No 1904205 from a drug shop in Kapeka, Nakaseke District to protect himself against STDs and other related consequences of unprotected sex.
However, he says the condom broke during the act of sex hence exposing him to unprotected sex.

“Having tested HIV negative twice before; in June and September 2019, I tested HIV positive on November 6, 2019,” Mr Kintu narrates in his affidavit before court.
Mr Balinya also states that on October 22, 2019, he bought Life Guard condoms batch number 19050105 from Shifa Pharmacy in Ibanda town which he used that same night but upon completion of the act, he realised that the condom had broken and was leaking.
He claims that being a regular condom user, he retained the other condoms he had not used for future use.

“On October 24, 2019, he felt lots of pain in his (Mr Balinya)’s private parts, went to Ruhooko Health Centre IV In Ibanda for treatment where he was tested and diagnosed with gonorrhoea and put on treatment,” reads in part the court documents.
Mr Balinya states that he had never been tested or diagnosed with gonorrhoea or any other sexually transmitted infection or disease before the use of the said condoms.
The two men claim that they later found out through the media that the said batch of Life Guard condoms had been recalled by the National Drug Authority (NDA) for being defective and having been illegally distributed by Marie Stopes.

“It was further reported by the Minister of State for Health in her report to Parliament dated November 11, 2019 that the batch of Life Guard condoms that had been rolled to the public illegally and without following the prescribed procedure by the defendant (Marie Stopes) were tested and analysed by NDA and found defective,” court documents further read in part.
The two men contend that NDA has clarified that the impugned condoms were defective and the importer rolled them on market before they could be tested and analysed.
Court documents state that as a result of the negligent actions of Marie Stopes, Mr Kintu contracted HIV which he inadvertently transmitted to his wife and as a result has suffered mental anguish, inconvenience while Mr Balinya contracted gonorrhoea thus suffering immense pain.

Through their lawyers of Ojok Advocates, Mr Kintu wants Shs 19million while Mr Balinya wants Shs 3million as special damages, general damages, exemplary damages at an interest of 30 percent and costs of the suit.