GRN Should Lead By Example On HIV

AFTER many years of evasive and apologetic reactions (alleging individual rights and confidentiality) to The Namibian’s appeal to the leaders of the Namibian government to lead by example by allowing themselves be tested and make their HIV status known, it is appalling to hear that the Minister of Health and other GRN leaders are now in unison and want to force the churches to demand HIV certificates from people who want to marry in the churches.

The question here is: Why is the demand to be made only from those who want to marry in a church when magistrates who are, for instance, part of government, also perform marriages in this country? Were the Hon Mensah and the Deputy Prime Minister also asked to produce HIV certificates when they married recently?Let the Namibian legislators who were elected to pass laws for the entire country lead by example and pass a law that demands HIV status from every Namibian citizen and any inhabitant of Namibia (including MPs and all cabinet members who so often tend to exonerate themselves) and not only churchgoers.GRN members, put your own house in order first; stop appealing to people to go for testing when you yourselves haven’t done so.If you want to be credible, you should rather make your appeal at the centre where you submit yourself to the test.Stop double standards; or otherwise, give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God, that is: leave churchgoers in peace and alone until you address the issue of demanding the HIV status from all inhabitants of Namibia and not only Christians.Concerned Christian WindhoekWere the Hon Mensah and the Deputy Prime Minister also asked to produce HIV certificates when they married recently?Let the Namibian legislators who were elected to pass laws for the entire country lead by example and pass a law that demands HIV status from every Namibian citizen and any inhabitant of Namibia (including MPs and all cabinet members who so often tend to exonerate themselves) and not only churchgoers.GRN members, put your own house in order first; stop appealing to people to go for testing when you yourselves haven’t done so.If you want to be credible, you should rather make your appeal at the centre where you submit yourself to the test.Stop double standards; or otherwise, give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God, that is: leave churchgoers in peace and alone until you address the issue of demanding the HIV status from all inhabitants of Namibia and not only Christians.Concerned Christian Windhoek