Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Check Point Desk
A BULAWAYO woman who was forced to reveal her HIV status to her superiors at work to seek medical attention has been summoned for failing to provide proof of results bearing her name.
The woman who is employed by a security company as a guard continues to be humiliated by her employer after they initially declined that she goes for a medical review or risk losing her job.
The security company is headquartered in Harare.
“I received a call yesterday (Wednesday) ordering me to report to the office, in uniform this morning and on getting there, I found four managers who interrogated me on why I have not provided concrete evidence of my medical condition. They said the record I sent does not bear my name, so what they want is a doctor’s letter confirming that I went for review and the type of medication I was prescribed to use,” she said.
On Tuesday, 40 year old woman with three young kids told Check Point that she was meant to go for her medical review on April 17 but was denied leave of absence by company secretary, a Ms Patience Mambewu who told her that if she wanted to go, she must surrender the company uniform and not return to work.
“I eventually went for review because that is my health, I could not take a risk,” she said.
However, upon her return, she received a call from Ms Mambewu demanding her medical record as proof of her HIV status, an order which shocked her.
“Despite my discomfort, I sent her a picture of my medical card via WhatsApp as she had demanded,” said the distraught woman, whose family said she seemed suicidal at one time.
Still, company management could have none of it as the record did not have her name.
Once a person undergoes HIV Testing, a card bearing results is coded with a number that one can use to access their results with a health institution and not the actual name of the client.
In an audio sent via WhatsApp, Ms Mambewu is heard demanding a written report from her for defiance.
“You said you will send me the picture (medical record) but you didn’t, only sending it now and it has no name, meaning it could be anyone else. You must come to the office and write a formal report on your conduct,” thundered Ms Mambewu in the audio.
The widow said her health is deteriorating day by day because of the pressure she was facing.
“I am a mother of three children who were left by their father whilst they were still very young, after my husband succumbed to the ravages of this disease. Seeking a job was because I am trying to earn a living and provide them with a good upkeep,” she said.
The named security company’s Bulawayo head, Ms Mambewu, despite questions being sent to her on Wednesday and today, chose not to respond.
