The Sunday News
Charity Chikara, Sunday News Reporter
TSHOLOTSHO’S Chief Gampu Sithole has condemned the heartbreaking predicament concerning the pregnant nine-year-old girl saying it was culturally unacceptable.
The chief was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday where he said the occurrence was one of the most bizarre events to have taken place in his area of jurisdiction.
The nine-year-old from Tsholotsho is eight months pregnant, and officials said she is not aware of the pregnancy as she believes she has a “stomach ailment.”
Chief Gampu said society was expected to protect the young, innocent child not expose them to such heinous acts.
“I’m here to address the situation that occurred in my community involving the nine-year-old girl who just so happened to become pregnant. Being the leaders that we are, we strongly condemn this heinous conduct. Soon after learning the tragic news, I was able to visit the family and meet the child’s grandmother.
“I was told the girl had gone through puberty earlier than planned. The child was supposed to receive medical attention because that alone should have been a concern handled by a doctor. We want this innocent minor to receive the justice she deserves,” he said.
He stated that in response to the issue, his community will undertake awareness campaigns in collaboration with concerned organisations to encourage and inform people about concerns related to child abuse and to implore them to speak out more on such issues.
“We hope to raise awareness and educate our community members to always be vigilant, aware, and assist in protecting children. We further implore them not to conceal these facts for any purpose at all. If community members are concerned about being stigmatised or condemned for speaking up, we encourage them to use suggestion boxes and report such incidents anonymously.
“Underage children belong to the government and should have their rights upheld at all costs, hence it is illegal for parents to obtain bride prices for those children,” said the Chief.
Chief Gampu stated that such matters are no ordinary crime.
“We highly condemn this particular issue, I personally refuse to accept it as a normal crime and justifiable. I doubt God can accept this, the government definitely does not, the community should not normalise or accept it as well.
“Although we do not yet know who the perpetrator may be, we leave that decision to the legal system in the hope that a just penalty will be meted out to the offender,” he said.
