‘Men Use Their Wives as Test Kits’: HIV Activist’s Powerful Call to End Stigma

At 72, Rathabeng Mamabolo is a testament to resiliencea man who has not only survived the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa but has dedicated his life to fighting the stigma that almost destroyed him.

Diagnosed in 1995, a time when HIV was considered an automatic death sentence, Mamabolo now lives a full life, taking just one pill a day and mentoring men across the country.

The Diagnosis

In the mid-90s, Mamabolo was a school principal at a farm school in Limpopo. He was in and out of the clinic, feeling unwell, but it was the death of the woman he was living with that forced him to get tested.

“The lady passed on. That’s what forced me, provoked me to go for tests in 1995.”

When he returned to the clinic a week later, he was handed an envelope. The results were positive.

“At first, I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. I thought this thing happens to people who are living promiscuous lives… I couldn’t believe it would happen to me.”

The Stigma

His immediate reaction was despair. He drank himself into oblivion and, in a moment of desperate honesty, told his fellow teachers.

The reaction was swift and painful.

The following day, his fellow teachers started standing far away from him. Discrimination and stigmatisation began immediately.

“During that time, people believed you could contract the virus through casual contact.”

“You would find yourself sitting alone in a meeting of more than 100 people.”

The constant judgment eventually drove him to leave teaching. “I left teaching because of the stigma.”

The Turning Point

His turning point came after joining the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) , a movement that fought for the rollout of antiretrovirals (ARVs).

He credits the work of TAC leaders, including Justice Edwin Cameron and TAC co-founder Zackie Achmat, as the reason people like him are still alive today.

“Many of us of that era who were HIV positive, who are still alive, is because of these two guys who came out.”

The Treatment

In the early days, he took six pills daily at the same time. Side effects were debilitatingextreme exhaustion, lipodystrophy, developing a hunchback, or changes in body shape.

Today, he takes a single tablet.

“Those medications are really working. There are no side effects, very minimal. Right now, if you look at me… you won’t believe I’m over 70 and I’m still going strong.”

The Mission

After leaving teaching, Mamabolo wrote as a freelance journalist, co-chaired the Limpopo AIDS Council, and now mentors mostly men for Father a Nation, an organisation focused on gender-based violence and HIV.

He is passionate about getting men to take responsibility for their health.

“Men don’t get tested. They use their wives, their women, their girlfriends as test kits.”

If their test results are negative, they believe they are automatically negative”which is not true.”

Fighting Misinformation

He combats dangerous misinformation, like the recent fake news on social media that people with HIV would receive a R1,200 grant.

Some unemployed men are considering stopping their medication so their viral load increases, hoping to qualify for a nonexistent grant.

“I’m just going to quit this medication because I don’t work, I don’t have money,” one man told him.

The Front Line

He shares his story in schools, TVET colleges, and even taverns, where intoxicated men are often more willing to open up.

He is also working to educate traditional healers about the importance of HIV testing before initiation.

The Bottom Line

From a terrified school principal to a fearless activist, Rathabeng Mamabolo has spent decades fighting the disease and the stigma.

His message is simple: get tested. Stop using your partners as test kits. And never, ever give up on treatment.

“I’m still going strong.”