Maboshe Memorial Centre – MMC condemns this barbaric act and calls for the arrest of the perpetrators. Let the perpetrator face the full course of the law and serve as deterrent to the would be offenders.
In as much as Maboshe Memorial Centre – MMC would never condone such deviant behavior by a child, we would also never encourage use of barbaric and abusive method of disciplining a child by any parent or guardian, which are in direct violation of children's rights and the laws that protects children in Zambia. Any such acts by anyone puts such a one in direct violation of the laws and as such that person will be deemed to have committed a misdemeanor.
The constitution and other subsidiary laws protect everyone from any form of abuse including causing an injury and/or occasioning actual bodily harm on any person(s) which includes a child.
Article 24 (2) of the amendment Act No. 18 of 1996 of the Constitution of Zambia, states that all young persons shall be protected against physical or mental ill-treatment, all forms of neglect, cruelty or exploitation.
Further, Juveniles Act, Chapter 53 of the Laws of Zambia, section 46(1) states that if any person who has attained the age of sixteen years and has the custody, charge or care of any juvenile willfully assaults, ill-treats, neglects, abandons or exposes him, or causes or procures him to be assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed, in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health (including injury to or loss of sight, or hearing, or limb, or organ of the body, and any mental suffering), that person shall be liable to a fine not exceeding six thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.
Furthermore, the Penal Code, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia, section 248 states;
"Any person who commits an assault occasioning actual bodily harm is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for five years".
Maboshe Memorial Centre – MMC is again concerned with an advent increase of children in need of care in our society as a result of having more parent or guardian unfit to exercise care and guardianship or not exercising proper care and guardianship, or is either falling into bad associations or is exposed to moral or physical danger or beyond control( Section 9(1)(a) of Juvenile Act, Chapter 53 of the Laws of Zambia).
This has been witnessed in the recent past in our communities in many ways and at different levels. We seem to have weakened the once strong family child protection fabric and defense in our society. There is need to restore and/or strengthen the last line of child protection defense which is family and the community. We need to invest in positive parenting.
Perhaps, the powers that be need to be proactive and begin to implement the law to the latter. It must be noted that not everyone who is taking care of the child or who is called father, mother or otherwise has parenting skills or legally qualify to be entrusted with the custody of the child.
The laws, as provided for in Section 10 of the Juvenile Act, Cap 58 of the laws of Zambian, gives power to juvenile courts in respect of juveniles in need of care. Section 10(1) states that any police officer or juveniles inspector having reasonable grounds for believing that a juvenile is in need of care may bring him before a juvenile court, and it shall be the duty of a juveniles inspector to bring before a juvenile court any juvenile who appears to be in need of care unless he is satisfied that the taking of proceedings is undesirable in the interests of such juvenile, or that proceedings are about to be taken by some other person.
Furthermore, Section 10 (2) states that If a juvenile court is satisfied that any person brought before the court under this section is a juvenile in need of care, the court may;
(a) order his parents or guardian to enter into recognizance’s to exercise proper care and guardianship; or
(b) commit him to the care of any fit person, whether a relative or not, who is willing to undertake the care of him; or
(c) without making any other order, or in addition to making an order under either of the last two foregoing paragraphs, make an order placing him for a specified period, not exceeding three years, under the supervision of a probation officer or some other person appointed for the purpose by the court; or
(d) order him to be sent to an approved school.
Unfortunately, if the above articulated law was implemented to its fullest extent, a number of the parents and/or guardians would fall below the legally expected benchmarks and many children would be heading to the Government run Approved Schools.
We, therefore, encourage everyone to work toward investing in positive parenting and restore the fabric strength of family structure as the first and last defense in child protection in Zambia.
Issued by the Maboshe Memorial Centre - MMC
Cell #: +260979997382, +260975077808 and +260954655071
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