Privacy is a universal human right. Article 10 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that everyone has a right to privacy, whether as an individual or family. This certainly includes public figures. However, when a person freely enters public life, one must understand that certain issues that can be considered private for a private individual can become a matter of legitimate public interest, especially when those things affect the performance of the officeholder’s duties. By its very nature, entering public life lends one’s private life to public scrutiny.
Becoming a public servant means putting the public’s interest ahead of one’s own. This becomes more critical when it is the health of the public official.There are patterns that seems to play out when a “very important person” suffers ill health. Somehow, the official disappears from the public eye for a worrying period of time without explanation, then rumors begin to emerge, and then there is a vehement denial and sometimes threats to those who announce the illness, even if it is true. Then the “very important person” is whisked away because unlike the rest of humanity, they cannot be treated at home.
It is then followed by reports from those who visit him or her that the person is doing well and will soon be back. The next thing is a public announcement that the “very important person” has “suddenly” died!
It is important that personal sensitive patient information is protected from being disclosed, especially without the patient or family consent or knowledge. But again, being a public servant leads to an erosion of the absolute right to privacy. It is the reason that public servants declare their wealth.
In the United States for example, the President undergoes an annual medical examination and the report is provided to the public. On the White House website, you will find a comprehensive review of President Biden’s medical history complete with the medication he is on currently. When a public official is ill, his or her employers, the people, are duly informed, even if it is a case of Covid.
Not so for our “employees” generally in Africa. If is “treason” for example, to talk about the health of an African president.
We, the people, their “bosses,” are kept in the dark until we are invited to honour the legacy of the fallen hero. This is what gives rise to pervasive rumors. The information-starved public will speculate or invent information to fill that information void and with the facility of social media, it often blows out of proportion.
The enemies too take advantage to sow doubt, anger, resentment and discord or poke disrespectful jokes. In order to avoid knee-jerk reaction to information damage control, it is important to communicate more robustly and effectively about our public servants’ medical conditions with the press, the media and people. We can be candid about the situation while remaining respectful of the person’s and family’s privacy.
There is nothing secret or shameful about human suffering and dying. In fact, one can give a powerful witness of life at these moments of mortality like Pope John Paul II did in April 2005. What we celebrate most in Christian faith is Jesus’ public witness to his divine message through his passion, death and resurrection. There is dignity in suffering and dying if embraced courageously in the context of a loving community and not in secrecy. Daily Monitor
The author, Rev Dr Alex Ojacor, A priest serving in Chicago Archdiocese, USA
