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Shamwari Yemwanasikana has come out guns blazing condemning a 28th of July 2021, H- Metro newspaper article about a 14-year-old girl who died in labour after being denied hospital assistance by a member of an unnamed apostolic sect.
The girl empowerment lobby group alluded to the constitution of the Republic of Zimbabwe that affords everyone the right to freedom of conscience, which includes freedom to practice and propagate and give expression to religion and belief in section 60 (1) (a). The constitution also guarantees the right to health care in section 76.
Shamwari Yemwanasikana was concerned that it was not the first time people have heard or read reports of a madzibaba (apostolic sect male members) who deny members of their churches medical treatment.
“It is infuriating that the young girl met her untimely death at the hands of a religious leader, a death that could have been avoided had she gotten medical treatment in time. In practicing her religious beliefs, she was denied her constitutional right to accessing health services. The perpetrators in these barbaric acts have been going unpunishment for a very long time. The law enforcement agents have been failing in their duty to serve and protect.
“There is a false sense of security that these madzibaba’s possess that gives them the power to disregard the law and act anyhow. However, the law is the law and should not be applied selectively regardless of the perpetrator’s position in society. The perpetrator and the accomplices who had a hand in the acts that led to her death should be arrested and the deceased should get the justice that she deserves,” Shamwari Yemwanasikana said in a statement today.
The Zimbabwean laws criminalize sexual intercourse with a young person who is below the age of consent, of 16years. In that regard, Shamwari Yemwanasikana argued that the person who impregnated the young girl committed a crime and violated the deceased hence should face the full arm of the law. They said the guardians of the deceased should be held accountable for their omission in reporting the abuse to the law enforcers.
“Churches are supposed to be safe havens for children. However, we have madzibaba who violated her right to health care which resulted in her death, thus, should be held accountable. The voice of church leaders needs to be heard in these crucial times when the girl child is being abused at the hands of church leaders. It is time that as a nation we regulate the operations of the cults that disguise themselves as churches whilst abusing women and girls.
“This is no longer the time to be silenced by these men of the cloth who have turned to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. The law is there to protect us and protect us it must without favor and fail. This is not the time to be complacent. Communities should take a standpoint in ensuring that our communities are safe and we are not complacent in responding to issues of child abuse. Therefore, we demand justice for the deceased who untimely died at the hands of a trusted man of the cloth. It is time that the government, together with the civil society, works together in putting an end to these inhumane crimes against the girl child being orchestrated by the men of the cloth,” Shamwari Yemwanasikana added.