Where is JUSTICE? Rape!!!

I was reading the chronicle newspaper sometime last week and the front page story that caught my eyes had a big headline “herdsmanimpregnates boss’s daughter; Grade 7 pupil drops out of school; BUT JUDGE LETS HIM GO FREE.” Before even reading the story l was like “what?” a ruthless man impregnates a kid and the judge lets him go free??? Again earlier this week another front page story appeared in the same newspaper which was a follow up on last week’s story, with headline “5-monthspregnant aged 13; BULILIMA ABUSE GIRL TELLS ALL; ‘I didn’t know what l wasdoing’’. The two stories just evoked something in me and l couldn’t resist writing about it.

Just a little background on the issue, what the newspaper reported to have happened is Conscience Nleya impregnated a 13year old child and was arraigned before a magistrate for his offence. He told the magistrate that he was in love with the kid and they had plans of getting married, building a family together. The magistrate decided that a wholly suspended prison term of 12 months on “good behavior” and 315 hours of community service was the suitable sentence for this man.

Honestly speaking l do not see any justice in this, how can a man who does so much evil to a child and literary destroy her future be left to move around the community freely? The magistrate even said it that the uneducated man had destroyed the innocent child’s future yet he gets community service for a sentence.

Children need protection against such heartless men and when an incident like this happens, a harsh message needs to be sent to scare even those who might consider doing the same crime in future. So what are we saying as a society? Are we saying that men can just have 315hours of community service for having sex with a minor? Why is the charge even ‘having sexual intercourse with a minor’ when it did not end there but he impregnated her? Where is justice? Where is protection of girl child?

Poor child her silence was bought with sweets which show just how innocent and childish she was. On the second story the child was telling her side of the story. She said she did not know what she was doing when she had sex with this ruthless man. She even went on to say she was not sure what her aunty meant when she said she might be pregnant. God! This world is full of evil that children needed serious protection against.

I wonder how many kids get raped like this each and every passing day. If this girl hadn’t been pregnant, no one was going to know that she was being abused. Imagine how many girls face this in every corner of the country yet it goes unreported. Innocent children, innocent girls with bright future ahead of them yet someone see a wife in them.

The 13-year-old's father said that no form of punishment can restore his daughter's innocence. It is very true even if the man is sent to prison for 30years, the child's innocence is gone, gone for good and she is left with a child who will alway be a continuous reminder of what she went through. This is so sad

Let us stand up as a community and protect kids, something needs to be done. Parents be friendly with your children so that they will be free enough to tell you when they face this kind of abuse. Children need to be educated at school and at home about sexual abuse and what they should do when people abuse them. These kids are the future, our tomorrow leaders. Let us protect them and protect our tomorrow.