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OUR main story yesterday was about a teenage student who was impregnated by her lover, who later married her, and has now become the centre of an explosive dispute between her family and her other lover.
The 16-year-old has since stopped going to school and is staying with her 24-year-old husband, James Tomerai.
However, her other lover, 41-year-old Brian Mukando, is crying foul because he says he also wanted to marry the teenager.
He now wants James to be arrested, for “abusing the pregnant teenager,” and says he will then take care of both the teenager and the kid she will deliver.
Brian spent the better part of Monday at Waterfalls Police Station trying to lodge a police report against James.
It’s unfortunate that all this drama is happening to a teenage girl who, at this point in her life, should be concentrating on her education.
For goodness sake, she is only 16 and most 16-year-olds should be in school.
We all know that it is now an offence to initiate or have any sexual or indecent relations with anyone under the age of 18 in Zimbabwe, as the new age of consent of 18, was brought into statute law.
That is what the law says.
While the age of consent for sexual relations was set in statute law at 16, this was raised to 18 as a result of the Constitutional Court confirming that the minimum age for marriage set at 18 in the Constitution also logically applied to the age of consent, so raising that to 18.
The opportunity has been taken to include acts that a reasonable person would see as an indecent act, and to make it clear that even asking a person under 18 to take part in sexual or indecent acts is an offence.
The penalties are set at level 12 fines or a maximum of 10 years in jail.
It’s very clear here that we have two men who took turns to have a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old woman.
We have two men who, in one way or the other, broke the laws that protect such young girls.
They don’t all seem to be concerned with that for one reason or another.
The other man, who is fighting to take the young girl from the man who married her, appears to know that there is an angle of illegality in all this nonsense.
That is why he was at Waterfalls Police station on Monday trying to nail his love rival.
What we don’t understand is that he doesn’t see that his pursuit of this young girl is also unlawful and, in the worst case scenario, can earn him a 10-year jail term.
We hope authorities will look at this case with interest because it is their responsibility to protect such teenage girls.
The police could get involved in this case and see where laws were broken.
Child and women rights organisations should also raise their voices because this is simply unacceptable.
Online Reporter