…as govt’s forced Covid-19 vaccination directive is challenged in court
Limpho Sello / Mohalenyane Phakela
LESOTHO’S Constitutional Court has been petitioned to order Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro to prove the existence of the Covid-19 virus.
The bizarre demand, which comes over two years since the outbreak of the pandemic, is among the prayers sought by various organisations who have joined forces to file a Constitutional Court application for the nullification of the government’s decision to force people to be vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.
The application was filed by the Christian Advocates and Ambassadors Association of Lesotho, the Justice and Democratic Ambassadors Association, the Lesotho Public Service Staff Association as well as individuals, Sejela ‘Mekeleli, Koantlane Molefi and Teele Nt?onyane.
Dr Majoro, the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC), Health Minister Semano Sekatle and Attorney General Rapelang Motsieloa are the first to fourth respondents respectively.
On 3 January 2022, Dr Majoro announced that the government had ordered all employers to ensure that all employees were vaccinated against Covid-19. Dr Majoro said all company bosses and principal secretaries had the responsibility of ensuring that all employees were vaccinated and presented proof in the form of vaccination cards.
He said unvaccinated people would not be allowed to access health and other services.
Prior to the prime minister’s announcement, the government had issued a gazette titled: Public Health (Covid-19) (Risk determination and Mitigation Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 on 31 December 2021 to give legal effect to the forced vaccination campaign.
The government’s decision is now being challenged in the Constitutional Court, with the application set to be moved on Tuesday.
In terms of interim reliefs, the applicants want the court to order “the implementation of Public Health (Covid-19) (Risk Determination and Mitigation Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 be put to a halt pending finalisation of this application”.
The applicants also want the court to order Dr Majoro to produce proof of the existence of Covid-19. This is despite that the existence of Covid-19 is acknowledged globally by governments, medical practitioners and the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/, the virus had by yesterday infected a cumulative 324 783 996 people worldwide and killed 5 549 721.
NACOSEC reported that the virus had by yesterday infected a cumulative 31 604 people and caused 687 deaths in Lesotho.
Despite this information, the applicants remain unconvinced of the existence of Covid-19.
They therefore wasn’t “that the respondents be jointly and/or severally directed to provide admissible, verified and competent expert medical evidence/report to prove the existence of Covid-19 pandemic; the necessity to vaccinate; the safety and effectiveness of the mandatory Covid-19 vaccine and the attendant risks to the applicants’ lives and health”.
In terms of final reliefs, the applicants want the Constitutional Court to nullify the gazette “in its entirety or the offending regulations’ clauses” for contravening the principal Public Health Order of 1970.
“That they (regulations) be declared invalid for forcing the applicants to vaccinate and denying them the right of access to shops and public and private essential services, to the threat and/or violation of their fundamental rights to life, health, labour and livelihood, freedom from discrimination, right to equal protection and benefit of law, right of access to courts for redress, freedom of religion, physical bodily integrity, privacy and right to an informed consent to medical treatment, which is Covid-19 vaccination.
“That the Public Health (Covid-19) (Risk determination and Mitigation Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 be declared unconstitutional for substantial overbreadth and vagueness in that it imposes positive duty on any health officer or medical officer or any Mosotho man with powers to enforce the law to ensure that a child or person gets injected with or without consent.
“That the Public Health (Covid-19) (Risk determination and Mitigation Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 be declared unconstitutional for substantial overbreadth and vagueness in that it imposes positive duty on chief accounting officers, managers, owners or any person who is in charge of an institution, enterprise, facility or place of work to deny an unvaccinated person right to enter or acquire services,” the applicants state in their court papers.