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Walter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau
At least 11 cases of child marriages involving girls as young as 14-years-old were reported here in the last month, amid concern over the late reporting of cases and problems in bringing police in to make the necessary arrests.

Long distances to the nearest police station in the affected areas has been cited as the main reason for the late reporting and handling of cases. The cases have been reported in Msampakaruma, Mayovhe, Mola and the Gache Gache fishing camps, while the nearest police posts are in Magunje and Siakobvu, some kilometres away.

Kariba District social welfare officer Mr Raymond Gondo said the cases are still to be resolved because the police have no transport to arrest the accused.

“In instances where the child has moved to the house of the man involved, we need the services of the police to effect an arrest, but because of lack of transport on their part, the cases take long to resolve,” said Mr Gondo.

Late reporting of cases has meant that the affected girls fail to get medical attention for potential sexually-transmitted diseases and fail to get care when they fall pregnant.

Mr Gondo said there could be more cases that go undetected and unreported as a result of complicity by parents and guardians.
“We have faced challenges where parents initiate the marriages on the basis that the supposed husband is relatively well off,” said Mr Gondo.

“In some cases we have faced resistance as the arrangement seems to be beneficial to the girl’s family. The economic environment has left women and girls vulnerable as families seek an easier means to survive at the expense of the girl child.”
Kariba and Hurungwe districts have some of the highest cases of child marriages in Zimbabwe.

A child, according to the Child Protection and Adoption Act, is anyone below the age of 18, while the Constitution allows marriage only for someone aged 18 and above. Mashonaland Central tops the list of child pregnancies, with 50 percent of girls becoming pregnant at an early age, while Mashonaland West comes second with 42 percent.