Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – A young Cameroonian female student who is to be deported from Mauritius because of her HIV-positive status on Friday took the matter to the Supreme Court in a bid to have the decision from the Passport and Immigration Office quashed.
In an affidavit submitted to the Court, the student, whose identity has not been revealed, said her life had become a nightmare since she tested HIV-positive.
The Cameroonian citizen came to Mauritius on January 27, 2015, for a one-year training in hospitality management under a three-month temporary student visa.
She tested HIV-positive on February 4, and on March 19, she was informed by the Passport and Immigration Office of Mauritius that her request for a visa was rejected and that she would have to leave the island in the next two weeks.
Supported by PILS, an NGO struggling for the rights of HIV-positive patients in the island, the Cameroonian citizen wrote a letter to Mauritian Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth on February 23, 2015, requesting him to use his prerogatives to authorize her to pursue her studies in Mauritius.
Recalling that any discrimination against her on the basis of her HIV-positive status was an offence, she said she had the right to be protected against any form of discrimination under the Constitution of Mauritius.
