TRADITIONAL leaders in Mashonaland West have accused local police forces of actively stalling progress in the fight against child marriage through institutional corruption and bribery.
They expressed deep frustration that known perpetrators of statutory rape and child abuse are being shielded by law enforcement agents.
Chief Dendera singled out the Magunje police, accusing them of allegedly aiding the ongoing abuse of young girls by deliberately failing to arrest and prosecute culprits brought before them.
“Our efforts are being severely hampered by police officers who deliberately refuse to arrest men sleeping with underage girls in this area,” a furious Chief Dendera told journalists during a National Aids Council (NAC) media tour.
“We work closely with the community to track down these perpetrators. Many times, we hand them over to the police, only for them to be released.”
He continued: “This happens even after the suspects have explicitly pleaded guilty to sleeping with minors at our traditional courts. We strongly suspect corruption and bribery are changing hands between the suspects and the police”.
Chief Dendera added that traditional leadership faces an uphill battle, as many culprits also defy customary law by failing to pay the cattle fines imposed on them by the chief’s court.
Chief Chundu, Abel Bhasera of Hurungwe, accused the Karoi police of identical failures, alleging that they routinely turn a blind eye to suspects referred from traditional hearings.
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“Karoi police are letting us down in our efforts to end child marriage. They simply fail to apprehend culprits for whatever reasons,” Chief Chundu said.
Chief Katizagombo, Gibson Jenami of Zvimba, shifted some of the blame towards the formal judiciary system, taking aim at the magistrate courts for letting perpetrators walk free on technicalities.
“Even if the police do take the culprits to court, most of them are acquitted because they hire lawyers,” Chief Katizagombo said.
“At our traditional courts, they have no legal representation and normally plead guilty.
“However, they immediately change their plea when they get to the magistrate courts.”
Mashonaland West provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Ian Kohwera, claimed ignorance of the development, urging the aggrieved traditional leaders to bypass local stations and report the matter to higher authorities.
“We are not aware of such complaints, but we urge chiefs who are unhappy with local police actions to launch their formal complaints with a higher office, be it at the district or provincial level,” Kohwera said.
He added that the police regularly hold “Victim-Friendly” meetings with child-protection stakeholders to iron out operational challenges.
In Zimbabwe, child marriages and forced marriages are illegal, but reports show that an estimated 34%of girls will be married by the time they are 18 years old.
The country has ratified several conventions to end child marriage, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 and the 2008 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
In 2016, the Constitutional Court outlawed child marriage. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), globally, one in every five girls is married, or in a union, before reaching the age of 18.
