SAfrica uproar over call for president AIDS test

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 12 (Reuters) South Africa's Deputy Health Minister today denied calling upon President Thabo Mbeki to take a public AIDS test, but repeated that she believed it was important for national leaders to be tested.

Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, who recently became one of the few senior South African officials to publicly undergo an AIDS test, said she had been misinterpreted -- but not by much -- in a recent interview with the London Sunday Telegraph.

''Although I encourage people to test so that they know their HIV status, I did not, as a matter of fact, call upon the President to conduct a public test,'' she said in a statement.

''The journalist asked me if I thought it helped if people in leadership positions tested - to which I responded in the affirmative.'' Madlala-Routledge has emerged as a key figure in South Africa's fight against AIDS following the apparent sidelining of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, seen by activists as embodying government reluctance to take on a disease which kills about 1,000 South Africans every day.

Madlala-Routledge has sought to build bridges with activist groups and to distance the government from Tshabalala-Msimang's controversial policies such as encouraging ''natural'' treatments such as olive oil and beetroot for HIV infection.

But political analysts say she may have gone too far in the Telegraph interview, in which she openly criticised the health minister and Mbeki himself -- who in the past has questioned the basic science of HIV/AIDS.

''What has happened in South Africa, which is tragic, is that people are confused about treatment,'' she said, adding that some leaders had sent out mixed messages about how to treat AIDS.

Madlala-Routledge's statement did not deny any of the main points she has raised on South Africa's battle against AIDS, which have included admitting ''denial at the very highest level'' of government over the country's AIDS crisis.

She told the Telegraph she intended to continue speaking her mind despite political pressure.

''I've been sanctioned because I've spoken in parliament, and was told I may lose my job,'' she said. ''I must only say what she (the health minister) says, and this is official. For me that is gagging. But I've not observed the gag.'' REUTERS SHB ND1642