He probably gave it to her
And that's another possibility too. One that makes a lot more sense than what's been said.
He used her alleged affair as an escape route for him already having it; blaming her from contracting it, and then passing it onto him.
I haven't done the exact math nor do I know the exact transmission rates or time between getting it and then passing it on, but there's a 'window period' that can last for up to a month, which can return indeterminate results or false negatives, where you have to get additional testing to make sure. In order for him to be conscious of possibly having HIV, he'd need to know that this politician had it or had some suspicion he had it beforehand, so I question why this wasn't something that was already a well-known in the confines of where they're situated, where religion is the body of the county and he's in that position of power where by proximity, his wife would also know.
I can't imagine if someone has HIV (especially a politician), that if an outside party is aware of it, that they'd be the
only person to know.
- He'd have to have prior knowledge this politician had it, without her knowing the politician did or not caring
- The time it'd take for her contracting it and then passing it on, and then him being tested and getting concrete results.
All of this would have to occur before he actually addressed this with his wife. Something tells me he didn't wait for the proverbial ducks to line up before he broached these rumors with his wife.
My opinion is: I don't think any of these parties had HIV (or at least didn't know that they did), but this pastor used fear-mongering of this alleged affair, and weaponized it by claiming because she cheated on him that meant as a result he got HIV; meaning, as a result of her actions, God punished her by giving her this illness and she 'infected' him with it, not literally, but because she was his wife.