adminIsaac Waniwa Managing Editor
The newly appointed senior judge in charge of Bulawayo High Court, Justice Francis Bere, has expressed concern at the increasing number of girls that are being raped and called on the parents to take extra care to protect the girl-child. Addressing hundreds of people who attended a house-warming party at the homestead of his childhood friend, Ignatius Gonah, about four kilometres from Nharira business centre in Chivhu at the weekend, Justice Bere said an increasing number of girls’ lives were being ruined by rapists. He said what was painful was that the rapists were raping even toddlers and in some cases their own daughters.
“The courts are passing stiff penalties but it seems the sentences aren’t deterrent enough given the increasing number of cases reported on a daily basis,” said Justice Bere who recently replaced the late national hero, Justice Andrew Mutema as the senior judge in charge of Bulawayo High Court. He said it was important for parents to take measures to protect the girl-child from rapists he described as monsters that had no respect for the girls’ lives. Justice Bere said the most vulnerable girls were those whose parents were in the Diaspora.
“It’s extremely important for children to grow up under proper parental guidance but due to circumstances beyond their control, some parents have been forced to leave their children behind to look for work outside the country and such children are vulnerable to abuses such as rape,” said Justice Bere. He appealed to communities to ensure girls completed their education so that they realise their full potential.
“We want what was happening yesteryear when a woman was married while she was still a virgin and her husband paid a beast (mombe yechimanda) to thank his wife’s parents,” said Justice Bere. The senior judge said society was also disturbed by the upsurge in cases of domestic violence and violence in general. He said individuals were being killed over petty issues such as a dispute over an amount as little as a dollar. Justice Bere said it seems society no longer respects the sanctity of life hence precious lives were needlessly being lost as a result of violence. He said many women remained in abusive marriages because they were committed to protecting their marriages at all costs.
“Some of these women end up being killed by their abusive husbands. While it’s important to counsel couples, the counselling shouldn’t be more than thrice,” said Justice Bere. Matabeleland region has of late recorded an increase in murder cases most of them as a result of domestic violence.
Turning to the youths who attended the house-warming party for the newly built modern homestead in their numbers, Justice Bere said the homestead, which has most of the facilities one would enjoy in an urban area such as running water, electricity and other such facilities, was the fruits of hard work.
He said he and Gonah grew up together and did odd jobs to raise money for school fees. Justice Bere said both of them were at one time forced to drop out of school after primary school because they had no money to proceed to secondary school. “We did odd jobs to raise money for school fees and what you’re seeing today are the fruits of hard work which should inspire you as youths,” said Justice Bere.
He said today’s youths had the advantage of technology which enables them to do research so there was no excuse for failing to attain higher educational qualifications. “Gonah and me started working at a tender age of 14 because we had to raise our own fees,” he said. Justice Bere said despite the financial challenges, they managed to pursue their chosen careers. Gonah is the owner of Freda Mine in Gwanda.
“I’m deliberately giving you this background so that you appreciate the importance of hard work at school,” said Justice Bere.
derick.khumalo