News / Regional
Man jailed for forcing daughter (17) to marry
11 Jun 2012 at 03:10hrs | Views
A father who forced his 17-year-old daughter to drop out of school and marry a 31-year-old man has been jailed. Both the father and the would-be-husband are members of an apostolic sect. The incident occurred in Gwitshi area in Nkayi last month.
The father of the girl and two other relatives made the Form Four girl drop out of school and took her to the would-be husband's house to have sex with the man. They said it was their church's custom that girls were not supposed to be educated but should marry when they reach the age of 12 and have their own homes. This was heard during the appearance of the girl's father Abias Ndlovu (39), the would-be husband Jeremiah Sihle Dube and two other relatives of the girl, Mandla Ndlovu (35) and Maria Sibanda (34).
The four, who are apostolic sect congregates were charged under Section 94 (1) (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 when they appeared before Nkayi resident magistrate Mr Ndumo Masuku.
They were sentenced to 12 months each of which three months were suspended for five years on condition that they do not commit a similar offence. They will therefore serve an effective sentence of nine months in prison. The State case as presented by the prosecutor Mr Maxwell Hapanyengwi was that the girl's father took her from the custody of her grandmother in Mbondweni area in Nkayi and made her drop out of school at Hlangabeza High School.
Her father told her that it was their church's custom that girls were not supposed to be sent to school but should be married at the age of 12 and have their own families. Abias told his daughter that by growing to the age of 17 and getting as far as Form Four, she had acted contrary to the customs of the church and could not be allowed to continue contravening the church customs.
Mr Hapanyengwi told the court that the father took the girl to a church gathering where after prayers she was informed by Mandla and Sibanda that someone who would marry her was waiting. The two led the girl to a nearby homestead where they met Jeremiah whom they introduced to the girl as her husband before they left for the church service that was still on.
It was the State case that Jeremiah forced the girl into one of the huts and demanded to have sex with her claiming she was now his wife. The girl refused to bow to his demands and threatened to bite him. Jeremiah, however, could not be deterred, he insisted with his demands and the girl promised to return the following day for the sexual encounter. She then walked back to the church site around 1am where she joined others who were asleep in a tent.
The following day and on separate occasions, the court heard, the girl's father and Sibanda reprimanded her for refusing to have sex with Jeremiah. They emphasised that she should not repeat the mistake as she was now married to Jeremiah as fulfilment of his dream. She, however, fled from the church and reported the incident to her grandmother who reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of the four accused persons.
The father of the girl and two other relatives made the Form Four girl drop out of school and took her to the would-be husband's house to have sex with the man. They said it was their church's custom that girls were not supposed to be educated but should marry when they reach the age of 12 and have their own homes. This was heard during the appearance of the girl's father Abias Ndlovu (39), the would-be husband Jeremiah Sihle Dube and two other relatives of the girl, Mandla Ndlovu (35) and Maria Sibanda (34).
The four, who are apostolic sect congregates were charged under Section 94 (1) (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 when they appeared before Nkayi resident magistrate Mr Ndumo Masuku.
They were sentenced to 12 months each of which three months were suspended for five years on condition that they do not commit a similar offence. They will therefore serve an effective sentence of nine months in prison. The State case as presented by the prosecutor Mr Maxwell Hapanyengwi was that the girl's father took her from the custody of her grandmother in Mbondweni area in Nkayi and made her drop out of school at Hlangabeza High School.
Mr Hapanyengwi told the court that the father took the girl to a church gathering where after prayers she was informed by Mandla and Sibanda that someone who would marry her was waiting. The two led the girl to a nearby homestead where they met Jeremiah whom they introduced to the girl as her husband before they left for the church service that was still on.
It was the State case that Jeremiah forced the girl into one of the huts and demanded to have sex with her claiming she was now his wife. The girl refused to bow to his demands and threatened to bite him. Jeremiah, however, could not be deterred, he insisted with his demands and the girl promised to return the following day for the sexual encounter. She then walked back to the church site around 1am where she joined others who were asleep in a tent.
The following day and on separate occasions, the court heard, the girl's father and Sibanda reprimanded her for refusing to have sex with Jeremiah. They emphasised that she should not repeat the mistake as she was now married to Jeremiah as fulfilment of his dream. She, however, fled from the church and reported the incident to her grandmother who reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of the four accused persons.
Source - sunday news
