Zim Metro

Boy (15) and girl (14) forced to marry each other in Mashonaland

In an incident that demonstrated child abuse of highest order, an innocent 14-year-old girl from Bikita was last week handed over by her family to be the wife of another minor, a 15-year-old boy, as a way of appeasing avenging spirits.

The spine-chilling incident, that has left tongues wagging happened in Mberikwazo Village under Chief Mazungunye in Bikita where a Macheke family handed over their daughter to a Chireya family as a rite to appease avenging spirits after their son, Masimba Macheke, had allegedly stabbed to death Kudzai Chireya.

The ceremony was allegedly attended by both families who conducted the "hand over" where the Form Three student at Gwindigwi High School was given a wife. A source privy to the ceremony said on an unknown date but some time in August 1998, one Masimba Macheke (age not given) of Bengura village under chief Mazungunye allegedly stabbed and killed Kudzai Chireya of Mberikwazo village, in Chief Mukanganwi's area in Bikita.

"The two had a quarrel over contracts of digging wells in the area. They had a fight and when Macheka realised that he was being overpowered, he drew a knife from his pocket and stabbed Chireya several times on his body, leading to his death.

This took place in 1998 during summer," the source narrated. The source further said Macheke was accusing Chireya of sabotaging him on contracts that he said were from his clients.

"Since then, the Macheke family has been haunted by the incident and a barrage of misfortunes were befalling them year in and out leaving them with no option but to appease the avenging spirits," the source revealed.

However, it could not be ascertained whether the accused man was still in prison at the time of going to press. Meanwhile, organisations entrusted with overseeing the rights of children have rapped societies that still embraced the notion of sacrificing their daughters' liberty and rights under the guise of appeasing avenging spirits and called upon the law to intervene in such matters.

"We deplore any form of child abuse. This is the worst kind of child abuse which the police should attend to.

"Definitely we are going to take action after our investigations have proved it true that it really happened. "

"We want to ensure that the girl goes back to school without any interruptions. The boy will also get disturbed because at his age, he is not prepared mentally and physically to become a husband," said a Girl Child Network official who requested anonymity for professional reasons.

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