Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu , Chronicle Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Gender Commission has launched an investigation into the rape of two Grade Seven pupils by a boarding master at Rhodes Estate Primary School (Reps).
School authorities took 26 days to report the case.
Two girls were allegedly raped on May 7 this year but the school authorities only reported the rape to the police on June 1.
The pupils’ parents were only informed of the rape on June 2 and due to failure by the school authorities to treat the matter with the urgency it deserved, the victims could not be medically attended to within the stipulated 72 hours to prevent HIV, sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy.
The rape of the two girls was only reported when the alleged perpetrator, Mlibazisi Bhebhe (32), was already on the run hence the allegation that the authorities are trying to protect him.
Medical practitioners also recommend that rape victims report before they even take a bath after the incident to enable them to extract fresh evidence which include semen and blood DNA.
The medical examination conducted more than 600 hours later is the only hope the families have to prove the alleged rape.
The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23) Section 76 (a) states that given the circumstances, REPS authorities may be charged as a co-perpetrator.
In an interview yesterday, the ZGC southern region manager Mr Dalubuhle Sibanda said it was the duty of the commission to ensure that Constituted gender policy is being implemented everywhere especially in schools for the protection of girls.
He said the Reps incident is a confirmation that girls in Zimbabwe are still experiencing a lot violations of their rights.
“I am drafting a letter to officialise a thorough investigations as what has been published may just be a tip of the iceberg. We take media reports seriously and therefore, we cannot just let this go without doing our investigations to ensure that provisions of the Gender Policy are upheld even in schools,” said Mr Sibanda.
He said the delay in reporting the rape case was a criminal violation of rights relating to gender.
“Our mandate is to investigate possible violations of rights relating to gender equality and to receive and consider complaints from the public and to take such action in regard to the complaints as it considers appropriate.”
Local psychologist Miss Jacqeline Nkomo says the rape incident is likely to turn the two girls into bitter adults who will have an untreated hatred against men.
She said the failure of the school to report the sexual abuse on time will make it difficult for the girls to trust anyone or open up when they face abuse later in their lives.
“Rape survivors often struggle with anger issues and these two affected girls are likely to grow up thinking men are ‘dogs’ based on their experience at school. Unfortunately, this incident occurred when they are just starting their journey into puberty and their hormones are all over meaning every man they are to meet will be viewed as a potential rapist like Mlibazisi,” said Miss Nkomo.
She said the delays in reporting the case will affect the girl’s sense of belonging and self-esteem as they may think they deserved the sexual assault.
“A study was also carried out recently which showed that most sex workers are victims of rape. This calls for urgent help for the girls and justice so that they do not grow up without faith in the school and justice system. We cannot afford to just ignore this, something must be done so that these two girls find peace and are able to lead normal lives,” she said.
Musasa executive director Mrs Precious Taru said the delay in reporting the rape case was unacceptable.
“If you look into current multi sectoral protocol on sexual gender-based violence produced by the Government last year, it talks about specific timelines on when these issues should be reported and 26 days is way over the period stipulated in that protocol,” said Mrs Taru.
She said there are a lot of drivers fuelling SGBV in Zimbabwe but nothing to deter anyone from making reports for justice to prevail.
“For Musasa the sentencing patterns are also an issue as we think people must have confidence in the way rape cases are handled. We do not have a mandatory sentence that act as a deterrent for people who rape. We have legislation to protect precious stones and livestock but none for women,” added Mrs Taru. — @thamamoe
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