TAKEAWAYS

• Ugandan star Ronald Mayinja spilled on how false HIV rumors were weaponized to sabotage his music career during a rough patch.
• The singer recounted a tearful moment when a fan mistook him for being HIV positive and begged him for medication sources.
• Mayinja handled the sensitive encounter with compassion, promising to help the woman find treatment if he ever tested positive.

Ugandan musician Ronald Mayinja has opened up about a difficult period in his career when rumours circulated that he was HIV positive, revealing how the claims were used to undermine him and his music career.

Speaking to Spark TV, Mayinja explained that although he does not condone such behaviour, some people used the allegations to weaken him professionally, something he described as unfortunate.

He also recalled an emotional encounter with a fan who approached him after a show and broke down while revealing that she was HIV positive.

According to Mayinja, the woman asked him to show her where he got his medication so that she could also access hers from the same place.

“She told me to show her where I get medicine from so that she begins to get hers from there,” he narrated.

Mayinja said he felt obligated to handle the situation carefully because the woman had trusted him enough to share something so personal. He did not want to dismiss her concerns or make her feel worse about her condition.

He revealed that he told her he had not yet tested himself but promised to get back to her once he did. He further explained that if he tested positive, they could go together to access medication.

“I realized that if I brush her pain off she would feel bad about it yet she had confided in me,” he said.

Reflecting on the experience, Mayinja noted that certain things happen in life that are beyond human control, adding that people should learn to understand and handle such situations with compassion.