Botswana: Deportee Gets Reprieve
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
27 August 2008
Posted to the web 28 August 2008
Isaiah Morewagae
The Botswana government has agreed to re-admit a Zimbabwean facing deportation to treatment for Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
Following a recommendation by the High Court, a settlement was reached that Mthandazo Sibanda, be reinstated on medication pending judgement on the appeal against his deportation.
The lawyer for the Botswana Network of Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA), Unopa Ndadi who appeared for Sibanda told the court that they have agreed with the Botswana government (Ministry of Health, Department of Immigration and Attorney General's Chambers) for an out of court settlement.
Ndadi revealed that each party will foot the bills for the application as part of the settlement. Sibanda was suing government on medical grounds.
He has been removed from the prison clinic to Princess Marina Hospital to start treatment again.
Justice Abednico Tafa of the Lobatse High Court advised the two parties to try and resolve the matter outside court.
He said that it might turn out that the two were not necessarily in disagreement and they just need to work out modalities so that Sibanda's life is saved. "There is some urgency in it. When life is threatened, it is urgent and we can't say God will keep him seven days while we wrangle over whether to help him or not," Tafa advised the parties.
Sibanda contested his deportation arguing that his client was detained at Princess Marina Hospital without being given any treatment despite the serious nature of his medical situation."He was left to waste. We made efforts to get the Ministry of Health to help, but to no avail. It's a serious issue of public health," he said.
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Dittah Molodi of the Attorney General's Chambers, said before they reach an agreement that his clients tried to offer treatment to Sibanda, "but he ran away and now we are shocked that he has taken us before court".
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