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Mthabisi Tshuma, Chronicle Correspondent
THE Government was yesterday urged to raise criminal liability for children from seven years of age to 12.
Child president Mukudzeishe Madzivire, addressing a Press conference at Mhlahlandlela Government complex in Bulawayo yesterday to commemorate the Day of the African Child added that the Government should ensure young offenders do not go through the formal criminal justice system where they mix with hardened offenders.
The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs since late last year, has been working on the Child Justice Bill to come up with sustainable ways of dealing with children caught on the wrong side of the law.
The crafting of the Bill is set to result in the establishment of the child justice courts.
The Day of the African Child is commemorated every year on June 16 and was initiated after a student uprising in Soweto, South Africa, when students who marched in protest against apartheid-inspired education, were brutally murdered.
This year’s celebrations were held virtually, worldwide through platforms like Zoom. They ran under the theme “Access to a Child-Friendly Justice System in Africa.”
“We applaud the Government of Zimbabwe for prioritising children to protect and provide for them and above all to ensure their meaningful participation in matters that concern them.
“It is in that manner that we recommend and amplify calls for the review of the minimum age of criminal responsibility for children. Currently, it stands at seven years and we feel that this is an injustice to children. Research has shown that with proper care and guidance children will not commit a crime, and that at an age below twelve, children have no capacity to fully appreciate their actions especially when it comes to committing crime thus the need to raise criminal responsibility of children,” said Madzivire.
Madzivire said there is need for Government to consistently educate communities and children on their rights.
“While we support entirely the efforts to establish a child-friendly justice system in Zimbabwe and indeed in Africa, we believe that most importantly our system must prevent violation of children’s rights, leading to conflict or any form of contact with the law.
“Communities and children must be taught about their rights and responsibilities as well as the provisions of the law,” he said.
Madzivire said he was bothered by challenges that children faced in the country, among them failure to acquire birth certificates.
“We are bothered by the increase of cases of children in the justice system, failure of children to get birth certificates which pose challenges when they enter the justice system, small number of rehabilitation centres, failure of the system to fully reintegrate children back into society, lack of adequate probation officers which leads to delays in delivering justice for children, and delays in the alignment of laws to the Children’s Act.
“We are also worried by the fact that there is lack of legislation on diversion programmes and lack of proper holding cells at police stations which makes separation of a juvenile from adult offenders difficult,” said Madzivire.
He said incarceration of children should be the last resort when dealing with juvenile offenders. — @mthabisi_mthire.
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