The Sunday Mail
Shamiso Yikoniko
AS Zimbabwe grapples with the ballooning cases of sexual abuse, especially that of minors, gender and human rights activists have said the sentences that are being imposed on rapists is not deterrent enough. The activists are of the opinion that sentences imposed on cattle rustlers and copper cable thieves are often stiffer than those for rapists.
Convicted cattle or copper cables thieves are imprisoned for a period not less than nine years with no option of a fine.
The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 114, Section 1 (e) states that any person who takes possession of stolen livestock or its produce shall be guilty of stock theft and liable to imprisonment for a period of not less than nine years or more than 25 years.
The Electricity Amendment Act 8/07 posits that those caught breaking the law (stealing copper cables) face a jail sentence of 10 years or more.
On the other hand, rape has no mandatory sentence and some rapists have escaped with suspended sentences.
The maximum sentence prescribed may be life imprisonment but there is no mandatory jail sentence. The period that one can be incarcerated as outlined in the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 65 Section (1) is ‘imprisonment for life or any shorter period.
Musasa Project executive director Ms Netty Musanhu said more value is being placed on stock. “We are valuing stock and copper cables more than women and girls by not enacting mandatory sentencing for rape,” said Ms Musanhu.
“We risk reversing the gains achieved in the fight against HIV/Aids. The United Nations Children’s Fund indicates that 33 percent of girls are raped before they reach the age of 18.”
Padare/Men’s Forum on Gender national director, Mr Kelvin Hazangwi shared the same sentiments.
“There are values behind any piece of legislation and it seems more value is being attached to stock and copper cables than our daughters, mothers, aunts and sisters. Cattle are attached to patriarchy and they are a symbol of wealth, could that be the reason why we value them so much?” he queried.
“I’m not in a position to recommend years for mandatory sentencing but we need to understand the dynamics of power demonstration by men over women through rape.
Human rights defender and lawyer Ms Tariro Tandi also said lenient sentences are usually meted out on rapists.
“The issue of differential sentencing between cases of rape and those of stock theft for instance has been talked about since time immemorial,” she said.
“Stiffer penalties on rape are a strong signal of disapproval of rape which would lead to the safety of the girls and women.
“It’s not to say that the courts must act on the basis of impulse or emotion but with justice and deliberation at the back of their minds, ensuring that their sentencing patterns sends a clear message that rape is atrocious and should be frowned upon.”
Statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police Anti-Stock Theft Unit in 2014 indicated that between January and September 5, 2014; only 405 cattle were stolen, compared to 8 088 during the same period in 2013.
And at least one girl below the age of 16 is raped every two hours in Zimbabwe.
National Aids Council data revealed that an average of 392 female juveniles were sexually abused in 2014 every month.
A total of 4 714 girls younger than 16 years were raped in 2014, up from 3 297 recorded in 2013; while a total of 900 young girls were sexually abused in the first quarter of 2015.
In 2014, Harare West legislator, Ms Jessie Majome presented a motion in Parliament in which she called for the mandatory rape sentence to be a minimum of 30 years.
Ms Majome said it is a travesty that stock thieves and robbers were getting stiffer sentences than rapists.
She added that her research had revealed that the highest sentence passed by the courts on a rapist was 17 years, of which five years were suspended.
Furthermore, she said the research revealed that there is a low conviction rate for rape with only a third of those hauled before the courts being convicted with the majority being acquitted.
The shortage of rape kits at local police stations has derailed the prosecution of some rapists.
It is reported that the police are operating with only one kit that is currently stationed at the Police Forensic Laboratory in Harare and the country has not done any DNA testing since 2009.
A rape kit contains instruments that are used by a doctor to obtain swabs and slides, blood, saliva, pubic hair, fingernails and scrapings from rape victims which are sent for forensic tests to identify perpetrators. The results are used as evidence in court.
Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has previously stated that there is need for mandatory sentences for rapists.
The Vice President is on record telling legislators that it is important to prescribe mandatory sentences against crimes that violate other people’s rights.
However, despite the activists’ concerns, the longest sentence ever imposed in Zimbabwe was given to a rapist.
Thomas Brighton Chirembwe was sentenced to 290 years in prison for raping 13 women and unlawful entry.
Rape is defined as sexual assault that usually involves intercourse perpetrated against a person without their consent.
The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability or below the age of consent.
The age of consent in Zimbabwe is 16 years.
Rape’s vicious effects can traumatise the survivor for the rest of their life.
