Research has shown that HIV prevalence is higher
in marriages or among couples in stable
relationships due to infidelity.
The vice appears to have been legalised through
the phrase mpango wa kando (literally, “side
arrangement” in reference to keeping a
mistress), a practice that has gained currency
among couples.
But the opposite is true among pseudo-pastoral
Turkana people inhabiting the scorched area of
north-western Kenya, thanks to potent cultural
beliefs that have defied modernity.
While the HIV prevalence rate in the larger
Turkana stands at 9.2 per cent, according to the
National Aids and STI Control Programme, in
rural areas, the rate is at 3.7 per cent, thanks
to culture.
There, mpango wa kando is akin to having a
death wish on one’s head as there are cultural
practices to detect the vice.
Picture this: Lokol (not his real name), a
traditionally married Turkana man, normally
returns home after a three-month absence as he
works away from the village.
Whenever he returns, he receives a warm welcome
from his wife and children.
On this particular day, however, as he was
settling down at home, the unexpected happened.
He started nose bleeding, something he had not
suffered for a long time. Similarly, the children
started to nose bleed. His goats too, suffered.
Instead of walking on their fours, the animals
dragged themselves around on their rumps
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