NEW: Govt to expedite Guardianship of Minors Amendment Bill

Debra Matabvu

Government is expediting the passage of the Guardianship of Minors Amendment Bill that seeks, among other issues, to bar parents from consenting to marriage of children.

The Bill was read for the second time in the National House of Assembly last month.

The bill seeks to amend the Guardianship of Minors Act and will remove references to parents consenting to marriages of minor children as contained in Section 4 of the Act.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said there was need to make the amendments urgently.

“The decisions that a guardian makes concerning a child under his or her guardianship should serve the best interest of the child,” he said.

“Child marriages are a topical issue. We need to barricade all the avenues of this practice. In the worrisome case of Anna Machaya, it is alleged that the deceased minor’s marriage was consented to by the parents.

“The Guardianship of Minors Act, Section 4 (1) (b) gives powers to a parent with guardianship to give consent to marriage of a minor. The Constitution accords the right to found a family only to those who have reached the age of 18.

“The Bill will delete the provision of Section 4 (1) (b) of the principal Act, thereby aligning it to the Constitution.”

“The fact that the Guardianship of Minors Act permits the giving of consent to a marriage of a minor and the prevalence of child marriages, makes the need to enact these amendments non-optional and urgent.”

Apart from outlawing child marriages, the Bill also seeks to align the law with the Constitution by giving mother and father equal rights over the guardianship of their child or children and to consult each other.

The Bill will also give fathers co- guardianship for children born out of wedlock, removing the current provisions that give the role to mothers.

The issue of child marriages has come under the spotlight following the death of 14-year-old Anna Machaya at a Johane Marange Apostolic shrine in Marange recently.

Hatirarami Momberume (26) has since been arrested for engaging in sexual activities with a minor and murder while the late Anna’s parents, Edmore Machaya and Shy Mabika are facing obstruction of justice charges.

It is also said the parents misled investigations that the person who had died was Memory and was aged 22.

However, it later turned out that Memory was alive. The parents are alleged to have pledged their nine-year-old daughter to Momberume.

Recently, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education educated communities on the importance of education and vices of early marriages.

The Ministry’s communications and advocacy director, Mr Taungana Ndoro, said there was an increased disinterest in education among children of school going age and parents as well.

This has led to early marriages and teen pregnancies.

“We have also been educating communities about the importance of education,” Mr Ndoro said.

“We have noticed that there has been disinterest in education especially in the rural areas. So we have been educating parents and learners about the vices of early marriages and teen pregnancies.”

Earlier this year, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Dr Sithembiso Nyoni told the National Assembly that there was an increase in the number of girls below 17 years impregnated and married during the Covid-19 induced lockdown.

“A total of 4 959 got impregnated in such a short period and this means that nearly 5 000 of our girls risk losing their educational opportunity if they do not pursue re-admission.

“Most worrying is the 1 774 who are in matrimonial union before their 18th birthday. They have lost opportunities and have also become vulnerable to other forms of violence and assault, which include economic and emotional abuse.”