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The case of an HIV-positive man accused of killing two women and endangering the lives of 11 other sexual partners is bound for a preliminary hearing in August.

Johnson Apangu Aziga, 48, appeared Friday in Ontario Court and told Justice Anton Zuraw he had retained new counsel, Greg Leslie, after having fired his former lawyer on the eve of his original trial.

The new lawyer is best known for representing the convicted killer of 10-year-old Holly Jones in Toronto last year. Leslie requested a two-week adjournment to allow him time to retrieve and familiarize himself with Aziga's file. The disclosure material is in the hands of a third lawyer, Munyonzwe Hamalengwa, of Mississauga, whom Aziga had retained before hiring Leslie.

But Zuraw refused to accept further delays in a case that has dragged on for 18 months. Aziga was remanded in custody until Aug. 8 for a preliminary inquiry.

Aziga is believed to be the first person in Canada to be charged with first-degree murder in an HIV-infection case.

Both of the women he is accused of killing were from Toronto. One died Dec. 7, 2003, and the other on May 19 last year.

Their AIDS-related deaths have been classified as first-degree murders because they are alleged to have resulted from sexual assaults, which automatically elevates the offences to first-degree murders.

All the women in the case are considered victims of aggravated sexual assaults because they are said not to have known they were having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive person.

In 1998, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that failure to disclose one's HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) to a sexual partner is a kind of fraud that wipes out consent to sexual intercourse. It also said that very careful use of a condom could reduce the risk so much that it might not be a crime.

Aziga's new lawyer will meet with assistant Crown attorney Wendy Sabean and the judge to discuss moving the case forward.

bbrown@thespec.com

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Credit: The Hamilton Spectator

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