The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE Government has assured that it is ready to release the baby of the 10-year-old girl from Tsholotsho District who made headlines last year when she was impregnated by her then 13-year-old neighbour to her parents.
Emphasising the importance of children growing up in a family environment, the State has stated that it currently sees no barriers to approving the adoption as long as it serves the best interests of the child.
The mother of the 10-year-old approached the Department of Social Welfare offices in Tsholotsho where she registered her request to be granted custody of their one-year-old granddaughter who is being cared for at a children’s home.
This was said by the Matabeleland North Provincial Social Development Officer Mr Sicelo Nyathi last week on the sidelines of an Adolescent Mothers Education Initiative Programme which was being undertaken by World Vision.
“The girl is doing fine, she is in a children’s home with a valid court order, she is being taken care of, even her educational needs are being met. The little one is still in an institution too, being taken care of.
“We are deliberating in the best interests of the child that the child will be reunified with their grandparents. But what we consider is the best interest of the child in everything that we do. Now that the grandparents are keen to take care of the grandchild, there is no reason whatsoever that can make us deny them their grandchild,” said Mr Nyathi.
The 10-year-old’s parents indicated that they would like to register their grandchild under their names, which Mr Nyathi said was possible.
After it was discovered that the then nine-year-old was pregnant last year, DNA tests were ordered by the courts and were conducted at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) Applied Genetics Testing Centre (AGTC).
They exonerated the father of the girl who had been a prime suspect which led to further investigations that led the police to a 13-year-old cousin, a neighbour to the family.
Asked on the fate of the cousin, Mr Nyathi said the boy is undergoing rehabilitation.
“Social workers engaged the boy in terms of counselling. The reason these children are being kept away from the community is to protect them from stigma at the moment,” he said.
A child is anyone under the age of 18 and according to Zimbabwean laws, no child below that age should engage in sexual relations. However, Mr Nyathi noted that children are now being involved sexually with each other.
“What happens in that case is that we consider them as children who require care and in some instances, we can intervene and make sure we take those children and place them in appropriate institutions or under foster care. This is because we need to protect children. What we encourage as Social Welfare is for the communities to protect their children and for the children to be taken care of within the communities.
“Foster care is the way to go in taking care of our children, they must grow in a home environment where there is a family set up, rather than taking children to institutions. All children who are abused, we must foster them,” he said.
Mr Nyathi added that as a department they are working with traditional leaders to sensitise communities via community childcare workers on the importance of protecting children to ensure that they do not end up indulging in sexual activities at an early stage.–@NyembeziMu
