Dr. Rajah Madhewoo, 67 years old, passed away on the evening of 24 November. The activist and social worker was reportedly admitted to Jeetoo Hospital after testing positive for Covid 19.
Dr. Rajah Madhewoo was best known for his fight against the biometric national card. It was a long and difficult fight, but in the end, he won, after having suffered several setbacks, notably before the Supreme Court and the Privy Council.
Indeed, he had taken the case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee and in July of this year, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled in his favour and considered that the Mauritian legislation of 2013 on the biometric national identity card violated the right to privacy of its citizens. There were no sufficient guarantee for the protection of fingerprints and other biometric data.
A fight started since 2013. After street protests against the provisions of the law concerning the biometric card, Dr. Rajah Madhewoo, one of the main contestants had taken the dispute to the Supreme Court in 2015.
This psychologist by profession, living in Creve Coeur had lived a few years in the United Kingdom before returning to Mauritius. He distinguished himself in his fight for social justice and respect for human rights through demonstrations and other positions.
Lawyers and politicians pay tribute to activist Dr Madhewoo
For more than a decade, Dr Rajah Madhewoo was at the front on many legal and political battles, the famous one being challenging the new biometric national identity card.
His lawyer Sanjeev Teeluckdharry paid tribute and stated it was a great lost for Mauritius namely for human rights fighters and trade unionist.
On his Facebook page, lawyer Rama Valayden qualified Dr Madhewoo as a freedom fighter. Labour party Member of Parliament, Fabrice David spoke of Dr R Madhewoo as someone who joined him for the fight of compensation claims for people in his constituency who suffered a lot from the construction of a Tank Farm at Les Salines.
Dr Madhewoo had stood up as candidate in several general and regional elections.
Le Matinal extends its deepest sympathies to the bereaved family.
