Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Check Point Desk
A 40-year-old widow has been forced to reveal her positive HIV status by a security company before being allowed to go for her mandatory review at a clinic in Gokwe, Midlands province.
The woman, whose name has been withheld for ethical reasons, who resides in Bulawayo’s Entumbane suburb, works for a security company, whose headquarters are in Harare.
She told Zimpapers that she was meant to go for her medical review on April 17 but was denied to do so by the company secretary, a Ms Patience Mambewu, who told her that if she wants to go, she must first surrender the company uniform and go for good.
“I eventually went for review because that is my health, which I could not risk,” she said.
However, upon her return, she received a call from Ms demanding her medical record as proof Mambewu of her HIV status, an order which shocked her.
“I am a widow with three kids whose father passed away after succumbing to the same illness I have, so out of fear of losing my job and failing to look after my kids, I sent her a picture of my medical card via WhatsApp as she had demanded,” she revealed.
The company management could still have none of it as the record did not have her name, a standard procedure.
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,” Ms Mambewu is heard saying in the audio.
The worker said she feels that her health condition was supposed to be kept secret and be treated with privacy.
“Now I feel discriminated, I feel stress and anxiety. I am now worried about how I will conduct my day-to-day activities just like my colleagues. I am vulnerable, feeling anxiety, unworthy to be living due to this condition, but the truth of it is that I did not choose to be what l am today.
“It was my wish that I keep on enjoying good health just like other people. Little did I know that my condition had implications in life because since the day I disclosed my status, I was labelled a liar, and forced to send my health status on WhatsApp,” she said.
Ms Mambewu is yet to respond to questions sent to her on Wednesday morning.
