Clergyman discloses his HIV status “to save the nation”

By disclosing his HIV status, Hendrick Vele risks being scorned by the community within which he functions.

Vele (54), an evangelist at the Apostolic Faith Mission at Dzimauli, revealed his status to the congregation in Maniini last Sunday as part of the acknowledgment and celebration of World Aids Day. He addressed the congregation before an official of the Thohoyandou Health Centre was about to make a presentation about HIV at the church.

“I was diagnosed with the HI Virus in 2007. I never disclosed it to the public until last Sunday, when I was tasked to make a presentation to the church during an event organized by our health council. I decided to come out publicly, because as chairperson of the Gender Committee in Thulamela since 2017, I realized that people who spoke about this virus did not have first-hand information about it.”

According to him, he had been toying with the idea for quite some time. “But I realized that if I continued to keep quiet, many people would die because of a lack of knowledge,” said Vele. He has been a clergyman of the AFM at Ogies near eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, since 1989  .

Vele, who made another public disclosure about his HIV status on Monday during the Thulamela Local Municipality World Aids Day Celebration and Ward Aids Council Launch at the Makwarela Community hall, said he became aware of his status in 2007 after his former partner found that her ex-boyfriend was HIV positive.

“One day after coming back from work, where I was working for a certain company holding a very senior position, I found my partner lying in bed, looking very worried. “When I asked her what the problem was, she told me that her former boyfriend was sick. She said she was worried that he had been diagnosed with the HI Virus.”

He said that the next morning he had gone for tests and the results confirmed that he was HIV positive. “I was not worried because I was guided by God,” he said.

Unfortunately, his partner refused to go for testing because she was told that if she took ARVs she would die. “Although we tried to involve our families to help us solve this issue, she decided to end our relationship of three years, instead of going for testing,” said Vele. He added that he was advised to seek help from different pastors in- and outside the country.

“I used a lot of money traveling to different pastors, trying to find a solution for this virus. I even used anointing oil, but the virus did not go away. The only thing that helped me was ARVs, which made me stop everything and focus on taking medication,” said Vele.

“I continued using ARVs until it was confirmed that the virus was no longer controlling me. My advice to other people is that they must have regular tests in order to know their status. Abstain, be faithful to your partners and use protection when having sex,” said Vele.

In his current family, Vele says they are using protection, because they are both HIV positive, to avoid re-infection.

Vele also urged the community to use the advantage of the first-hand experience he was sharing with them, so that they could live long. “Don’t blame witchcraft for something that is not there. Please be real and face this virus head-on. If you are negative, avoid the risk of contracting it. If you are positive, take ARVs,” said Vele, who has six children from a previous marriage.

Date:10 December 2018

By: Ndivhuwo Musetha

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