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August
newsletter Download
this document The Sunday Mail of June 20-26, 2010 had a startling headline which read, "Couple strangles child in effort to save marriage." In a society which has a moral backing and conscience, this surely must have raised a sense of shock and could raise the question, "what happened to morality and sanctity of life and what happened to the days when children were valued and a joy to the world?" The woman, Takudzwa Chiutsi (25) was married to Andrew Zinyambe (25). Ms. Chiutsi misrepresented to Zinyambe at the time of their marriage that she had no child. This misrepresentation, it turns out, was the source of the tragedy which then followed. This couple started living together with the now deceased child. The mother instructed the 4 year old child to refer to her as aunt so that her husband would not discover that she was in fact the child's biological mother. Even then, living with the boy was problematic because Zinyambe was not comfortable with taking care of someone else's child. This in itself reflects a clear lack of love and a serious deprivation because the child was not being raised in a proper family environment that he was entitled to. He was unwanted by his mother and stepfather. To him, the world was probably a loveless place and for someone of that tender age, he probably had so many questions as to why many circumstances in his life were different from those of his peers and worse still, no one could give him answers. To exacerbate little Talent's problem, Zinyambe found out that the boy was indeed his wife's biological child and he ordered his wife to leave the matrimonial home. The wife decided to trade in the life of her child for her marriage. Talent was then brutally slaughtered on the altar of their so called love. The paper reports that Zinyambe strangled Talent and dumped his little body in a manhole which is where his decomposing body was later found after Chiutsi confessed to taking part in this heinous deed. Not only was Talent's murder a crime against the State but against humanity too. Even to call it a crime against humanity does not accord what was done to Talent the gravity it deserves. What happened was the use of a helpless, defenseless and powerless child as a pawn in an adult game. Surely their love was a farce since it condoned the killing of a helpless child! This is only a peek at what is going on in Zimbabwe when it comes to violation of children's rights. Every child has the right to life, the right to grow, to have an education, the right to realize their full potential by growing to their full age. There are many "Talents" out there, everywhere, in the form of abandoned children and those abused in any and every kind of way. No such child should be abused. Everybody must help in the fight against the abuse of children. Above all, the State must ensure that the rights of all children are respected, protected and promoted. Visit the Justice for Children Trust fact sheet
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