Wrongful Death: The AIDS Trial

by Stephen Davis

  Chapter Forty-Six

  “I'd like to now call President Tambo Mbizana of South Africa.”

  The courtroom is silent and respectful as the witness walks with such dignity up the center aisle toward the witness stand. Once he is sworn in, Baker begins his questions.

  “President Mbizana, when did you take over from Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa?”

  “I was sworn in June of 1999.”

  “Thank you for being willing to come testify today. I know you are a very busy man and I'll get right to the point. AIDS seems to be one of the biggest issues you face in South Africa.”

  “Yes, but not just South Africa, Mr. Baker. The World Health Organization says there are more than 25 million people in all of Africa with HIV. In fact, seventy percent of the world’s HIV-positive population lives on the African continent, assuming the statistics are true.”

  “You seem to question those numbers, Mr. President.”

  “First and foremost, it is my job to question things, Mr. Baker, on behalf of all of my people. And numbers always depend on what you are measuring. Remember that we are dealing with extrapolation from a small study group to a larger population. But more than that, I say: So what? If it is clear that HIV does not cause AIDS, so what if there are 25 million people in Africa with HIV? Why should I or anyone else care if a pregnant mother is HIV-positive, either in Africa or in the United States? Why should we do anything about a newborn baby who may inherit HIV from its mother if being HIV-positive has nothing to do with AIDS?”

  “I think most people would consider that to be heresy, Mr. President.”

  “You have to remember that the name itself, HIV, is a total arbitrary name, and that the only link between the name HIV and the disease of AIDS was established by a political decision and not a medical one. We may eventually find out that the virus we call HIV has to do with something else entirely other than AIDS, like a person’s digestive system or their lungs, or is genetic rather than contagious. And we have to remember that not all viruses cause disease, especially not retroviruses. For all we know, it might even be a good thing to be HIV-positive! That HIV appears in African men and women more frequently than the rest of the world may mean that it has to do with living conditions, like heat or diet. We just don’t know. Until we find out what the virus we call HIV does in a human body, there is no cause for alarm about its numbers. What concerns me more are the number of people dying from AIDS in my country – whatever causes it – and that, too, I question.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of the definition of AIDS being used in Africa.”

  “Which is?”

  “The list of diseases that make up AIDS in Africa includes Kaposi's Sarcoma – which I thought even Dr. Gallo had agreed ten years ago was not caused by HIV – weight loss over 10% of body weight, chronic diarrhea for more than a month, fever for more than a month, persistent cough, generalized skin rashes, recurrent shingles, and chronic or persistent herpes. Mr. Baker, most of my people – not just a few – most of them have one or more of these symptoms, except KS, of course. South Africa is a poor country. Poverty creates diseases such as this, not just a virus. But on top of it all, it is not a requirement to be HIV-positive to be diagnosed with AIDS in Africa. In fact, no HIV test is required for a diagnosis of AIDS to be made.”

  “That seems very different than the definition of AIDS used in the U.S.”

  “It is very different. For example, in Africa, AIDS is equally distributed between men and women, and not limited in any way to a homosexual population. In fact, in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV-positive women outnumber HIV-positive men. There are 7 times more children with AIDS in Africa than in the U.S. And our numbers are going up while yours are going down.”

  “So you're not convinced you're really dealing with the same disease we call AIDS, or, as Dr. Howard’s commission would say, it is ‘AIDS By Definition’ rather than Classic AIDS or Iatrogenic AIDS?”

  “Let me give you a couple examples that make it difficult for me to discern the truth. A 1994 study in central Africa showed that 70% of the HIV-positive test results were false – which is maybe why no one wants to require an HIV test any more. And in Tanzania, one study gave HIV-positive women very inexpensive multi-vitamins, and that alone resulted in healthier babies and a noticeable increase in post-natal immunities. Apparently it didn't require treating some virus, Mr. Baker, to make my people better. Maybe we should be focusing more on treating poverty, malnutrition, parasitic infections and poor sanitation, which do not discriminate between sexes like AIDS does everywhere else.”

  “From what we read and hear, you've been getting a lot of pressure from very high levels of other governments to get in step with the rest of the world, Mr. President.”

  “This is true, yes. In May of 2000, your President Clinton invited me to the White House, for example.”

  “Because of your position on AIDS?”

  “Mr. Clinton is a very caring man. He was concerned about my people and strongly believed that I should allow AZT into my country to combat our AIDS epidemic.”

  “But why not allow AZT into your country?”

  “Because I was not convinced that AZT would help my people. I watched as other countries in Africa brought AZT in, and the number of deaths from AIDS went up, like an epidemic, while deaths from AIDS in South Africa stayed relatively the same, even using this very strange definition.”

  “But shouldn't you trust the medical experts?”

  “Mr. Baker, I am President of my country. I must take care of my people. They trust me to make decisions for them based on the knowledge I have that they do not possess or have access to. In order to know that I am making good decisions for my people in any area, I must be very suspicious of everything – very skeptical, especially these days, when it becomes harder to find the truth. Will you, Mr. Baker, show me that the virus called HIV causes AIDS? Will you show me why AIDS in my country doesn't even need HIV to be present to qualify as AIDS? Will you show me that AZT helps people who have AIDS, whether they have HIV or not – cures them, or even gives them more time or a better quality of life in the time they have left? Will you prove these things to me, Mr. Baker? If you can, you will be the very first that has been able to.”

  “If they can't prove to you any of these things, President Mbizana – if they can't prove to you that AZT has some positive value for your people – why do you think they worked so hard to get you to agree to it?”

  “Mr. Baker, even in my position, with what I see and know, I still believe in the goodness of the human being. I do not like to speak badly of anyone in particular. But I also know what a powerful thing greed can be and what it can make people do, especially in the world of business. So let me answer you this way. There are now somewhere between 4.5 and 6.5 million people, in my country alone, who supposedly have HIV, depending on whose statistics you want to believe. Let’s compromise and say there are 5.5 million. GlaxoSmithKline says they should all get AZT, whether they are currently sick or not. They have even offered it to my people at about $500 per patient per year, which is quite a bargain. Mr. Baker, you do the math.”

  Baker picks up a calculator from his table and punches in some numbers. “That's almost 3 billion dollars a year for GlaxoSmithKline, just in South Africa…and more than 12 billion a year for the whole of Africa.”

  “It reminds me of one of my favorite American movies. Show me the money, Mr. Baker. Show me the money.”

  “Mr. President, what, if anything, happened after your visit to see President Clinton in 2000, when you still refused to allow AZT into your country?”

  “The pressure increased, both from inside my country and outside. A study from the South African health department claimed that, all of a sudden, there were now over 6 million people in my country infected with HIV, making us number one in the world for the largest number of HIV-positives. That report, however, was soon contradicted by my state’s statistical agency, where the number wa
s almost two million people less. But finally, in 2003, my cabinet succumbed to the pressure and I gave in and allowed anti-retroviral drugs to be given to the people, on the stipulation that they would be given multi-vitamin supplements as well.”

  “And do we know the outcome of that decision?”

  “No, we don’t, Mr. Baker. It is too soon to tell. I just pray that I have not led my people down the wrong path.”

  “Thank you, President Mbizana. I have no further questions.”

  Once again Judge Watts looks at Crawley, who, this time, simply closes his eyes. She then looks back at Baker and motions for him to call his next witness. Instead, Baker announces, “Your Honor, the plaintiffs rest.”

  Judge Watts turns back to Crawley, whose eyes popped wide open with Baker’s pronouncement that he had finished presenting his case. She wonders if he has changed his mind from his opening statement. “Mr. Crawley, do you wish to present a case for the defense?”

  Crawley just sits for a minute. He then looks down his table at the panel of defense lawyers and defendants, and turns and looks at the rest of the entourage seated behind him. They all are looking back, bewildered. Finally, Crawley rises out of his chair, consulting his watch on the way.

  “Your Honor, considering the fact that it's almost lunchtime, I would ask for a lunch recess.”

  Judge Watts looks at Baker. “Mr. Baker?”

  “No objection, Your Honor.”

  “Then I expect we'll see everyone back here at two p.m. sharp. This court is in recess.”

  As the gavel sounds loudly and the media begins its usual rush toward the exit, Crawley announces to his entire team, “My office, fifteen minutes.”