The High Court today held that the mandatory HIV testing of two former employees of the Zambian Air Force violated their rights to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and privacy under the Constitution. In reaching its decision, the Court relied on comparative case law and Zambia’s international and regional treaty obligations. The Court did reject the two former employees’ claims that they were dismissed solely due to their HIV status, finding that they were dismissed due to their medical health, not because they were HIV positive. The Court thus did not reach the question of whether dismissal solely on the basis of HIV status would violate the Constitution. We will be posting the judgement shortly.
