Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
Herald Correspondent
UNDER the shade of a Musasa tree, a village head is summoned.
The charge: silence.
He failed to report a 15-year-old girl married off in his area within 14 days. Now he faces suspension and a report to the Government.
Scenes like this are becoming routine in rural Zimbabwe.
They are the frontline of the “Not in My Village” campaign, launched in 2024 as a joint initiative by the National AIDS Council (NAC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to put chiefs at the centre of the fight against early child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
For decades, traditional leaders in rural Zimbabwe were often viewed by human rights groups as part of the structural problem, shielding child marriage.
However, today, traditional leaders have transformed from passive community figures into active enforcers of children’s rights.
Chiefs across the country have issued strict, mandatory directives to their village heads to maintain an unyielding lookout for these cases and report them within a strict 14-day window.
When traditional leaders, senior Government officials, and development partners convened at the 2026 High-Level Indaba in Gweru, it became clear that this initiative has triggered a massive grassroots offensive.
Two years on, traditional leaders say the campaign is no longer just talk. It is fines in cattle, bricks for schools, police referrals, and, in one area, a decree that any unborn child of a minor “belongs to the Chief”.
Chief Bushu of Mashonaland Central decided to rewrite that script by shifting the financial burden entirely onto the perpetrators.
In his jurisdiction, a strict 14-day clock starts ticking the moment a child is married off. If a village head looks the other way, the consequences are swift.
“If the village head fails to report within our stipulated time, we summon him to my court,” Chief Bushu explained.
“If he fails to give a convincing answer, we suspend him and report him to the relevant authorities so that he may be relieved of his duties.”
Furthermore, the families of both the girl and the boy are fined two beasts (cattle) each under customary law.
Chief Bushu stated that parents who cite financial challenges are sentenced to manual labour to support local public institutions.
“We ask them to mould bricks equivalent to a beast or two beasts at schools or clinics,” Chief Bushu said.
“Those who violate traditional rules should contribute to the development of public infrastructure.”
In Shamva and Bindura, districts heavily impacted by informal mining activities, Chief Musana stated that his anti-child marriage drive aggressively engages mine owners and conservative religious institutions.
He revealed that local apostolic sects now regularly provide traditional leaders with slots during their massive church gatherings to openly condemn the practice.
“I ensure that whenever the apostolic sect holds its annual gatherings, I am given a slot. I make it clear to them that if they marry off children, they will face both imprisonment and customary fines from my court.”
In Mashonaland West, Chief Dendera of Hurungwe reported a similar protocol, fining the girl’s parents two beasts and the boy’s parents one beast.
Chief Dendera’s court also targets local beer halls, fining operators found entertaining minors or facilitating substance abuse.
He noted that while criminal elements are referred to the police, his court ensures local traditional punishment is meted out at the grassroots level first.
He, however, flagged a gap: “Some of the cases we refer to the police, we see the perpetrators walking scot-free in the village. We hope to collaborate more with the police.” In Goromonzi, chiefs have linked child marriage to drug abuse and worked with the Ministry of Health on awareness.
Mambo Chinhamora said they adopted a clear position: “Whenever a girl under 18 falls pregnant, we declare that the unborn child belongs to the Chief, and we hand the culprit over to the police.”
To eliminate jurisdictional friction between customary courts and the formal statutory legal system, Chief Bepura of Guruve revealed that traditional leaders in his area have established a direct digital communication link with the formal judiciary.
“We created a group with our provincial magistrate… They guide us on how to deal with certain issues. Sometimes they tell us that this case entirely belongs to the Judicial Service, or sometimes we tell them that it needs us as chiefs,” he said.
“We encourage other chiefs to follow suit so that there won’t be a misunderstanding between court chiefs and magistrates’ courts.”
Giving an overview of the programme, National AIDS Council chief executive officer Dr Bernard Madzima said young girls remain vulnerable to HIV infection because they often have limited, if any, negotiating power when it comes to safe sex.
“Young girls are at risk of contracting HIV because they have very limited, if not absent, negotiating power when it comes to safe sexual relationships. It is therefore important that we create safe spaces where they can be empowered and protected,” he said.
“It is important that these issues are discussed openly so that girls remain safe in school and are empowered to make informed decisions about their future.”
He said the programme began in Mashonaland Central Province under the leadership of Chief Negomo.
Following its success, the initiative was expanded to Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Manicaland, and Matabeleland South provinces.
Chief Magistrate Ms Vongai Guvuriro said courts remain committed to expediting cases involving child marriages, sexual offences, and abuse, although accused persons are entitled to constitutional rights that must be respected and can sometimes result in delays.
She also encouraged chiefs to continuously engage her office to avoid conflicts when handling certain cases and further encouraged them to report all rape cases within 72 hours.
United Nations Population Fund country representative Ms Miranda Tabifor thanked the Government for supporting the initiative and creating an enabling environment for youth innovation, while reaffirming UNFPA’s commitment to partnering with the Government, development agencies, and the broader United Nations family to expand the campaign’s impact.
“The idea (‘Not in My Village’) was conceived in Zimbabwe by young people (Young People’s Network) working together with UNFPA and later submitted to a global innovation competition,” she said.
“The initiative went on to achieve international recognition after emerging as the winner of a UNFPA Global Innovation Award.”
Chiefs at the just-ended 2026 High-Level Chiefs’ Review Indaba in Gweru were emphatic: child marriage is a criminal matter and must be treated as such.
But they also insist customary law has a role.
For years, the tragedy of early child marriage in Zimbabwe’s rural communities was quietly swept under the carpet, buried beneath a heavy layer of institutional silence, cultural compliance, and family collusion.
Too often, these illegal unions would simply never be heard of again, only coming to light years later when the victim had already passed the legal age of consent.
However, this is no longer the case.
Traditional leaders have dismantled this culture of secrecy.
