Copyright sundayexpress
…says minor twins were tested for HIV without his consent Moorosi Tsiane A Mafeteng man has taken the Mafeteng District Hospital to the High Court, accusing its staff of secretly testing his twin minor children for HIV without his consent. The father, whose names are withheld, is demanding M500 000 in damages for what he describes as a humiliating and unlawful violation of his children’s dignity and privacy. According to court papers filed this week, the ordeal occurred on 11 April 2025, when the man’s twin minor children were taken to the hospital by their nanny for what was supposed to be minor attention — treatment for nose blockage and body rash. Upon arrival, the nanny was allegedly directed to the hospital’s adolescent corner, where she met a staff member identified only as Ralefifi. The staffer reportedly asked the twins to follow her into another room while she instructed the nanny to remain behind. What happened next, the father says, forms the crux of his legal battle. “The said lady conducted HIV testing without saying any word,” the court papers allege. The Mafeteng Hospital, the Ministry of Health, and Attorney General Rapelang Motsieloa have been cited as first, second, and third respondents respectively in the explosive case. The documents further allege that the twins were not given any counselling or explanation before being tested — a direct breach of medical ethics and standard procedures. “The children were not given any counselling nor explanation of why they are being HIV tested, more so when the said children did not even know or understand the process and its consequences,” the papers state. After the alleged test, the twins were handed back their medical booklets without a word. When they reunited with their nanny outside, they reportedly told her what had happened. Alarmed, the nanny immediately informed the parents, who rushed to the hospital to demand answers — only to be met with silence. “The nanny then reported the unfortunate incident to me, and when I tried to inquire from the officers of the hospital what transpired, I was given no answer,” the father laments in his affidavit. The lawsuit claims that Ralefifi’s actions amounted to a gross violation of the children’s constitutional rights to dignity, privacy, and bodily integrity. The father further argues that the incident has caused emotional and psychological trauma to the minors, hence the M500 000 claim for damages.
