Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has said people living with HIV ‘have betrayed their families’ and advised youths to completely abstain from pre-marital sex as the way to prevent infection.

The notoriously anti-gay leader made the comments on Monday (1 December) to a group of youths at a World Aids Day event in Kabarole District, the Daily Monitor reported.

‘Those NGOs and whites come deceiving you that circumcision and condom use are the best ways to protect yourself against HIV/AIDS. But for me I advise you to put padlocks on your private parts,’ he said.

‘I told my children that once someone is affected by HIV/AIDS, they have betrayed their families because of the high hopes we usually have in children. So whenever my children would return for holidays, I would ask them whether the padlock is still on.’

LGBTI activists said the Museveni’s message re-enforced stigma.

‘It is better we just challenge the virus not the victims. There is no HIV/AIDS victim who would like to be treated like someone who betrayed his/her family,’ said Edwin Sesange, director of African LGBTI Out and Proud Diamond group.

‘The President should be encouraging love, hope and support to the victim. Also he should be campaigning for zero stigma.’

An estimated 1.4 million Ugandans are living with HIV, including 190,000 children, or 7.3% of the population.

According to the Ugandan AIDS Commission, there were 137,000 new infections last year.