Castrate, hang child sex predators: MPs

September 28, 2017
| Report Focus News

URUNGWE EAST MP Sarah Mahoka Tuesday said child sex predators should be castrated while her fellow Zanu PF colleague Dexter Nduna (Chegutu West) went further to prescribe hanging as fitting punishment for the offenders.

They were contributing to a motion moved by Matebeleland South proportional representation MP Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga.

The motion sought for a Public Service Ministerial statement speaking to solutions to the vice coupled with a full scale probe into rampant cases of children as young as 6 engaging into paid sex with older men.

MPs want the ministry to table its findings before parliament.

Child commercial sex exploitation cases are prevalent in Harare’s outlying settlements of Hopley, Caledonia and Epworth.

Mahoka, MP for Hurungwe East said male sex predators on young and vulnerable children must be castrated.

“These men should be castrated,” Mahoka said adding that police should arrest at least 20 of the offenders and use their case as examples to other would-be child abusers.

“The police should arrest about twenty men per day and imprison them. The law should not allow these men to be released and we use them as an example to others.”

Nduna, on his part, said Zimbabwe needed to take after China that has visited punitive punishment on corrupt officials which include putting them before a firing squad.

“This is exactly what we should be doing and for now, we should say yes, there is a call for incarceration of these perpetrators of injustice on children to the tune of 60 years without an option of a fine.

“Further to that, we need to do more especially for people that are in positions of authority, the people that were being spoken about here in particular by Honourable (James) Maridadi, those pot-bellied, big bodied fat lumps of shit.”

Nduna called for hanging.

“Those people that indulge in sex with those minors should be sentenced to hang.

“They should be sentenced to be arrayed before a firing squad and be shot by a marksman,” he said.

The Zanu PF legislator said he was a trained marksman who could volunteer his services towards the lynching of the offenders.

“So, I would certainly come in handy when such a task is given because as long as you have a child and you have a child who is a girl and this occurs to your child…the only thing that you want to do is to put your hands around the neck of the perpetrator of such injustice like an albatross and see their lifeless body on the floor.”

MPs also took turns to lambast Public Service Minister Prisca Mupfumira for causing the arrest of feminist NGO, Katswe Sistahood which was first to raise alarm over the rampant vice.

Authorities were accusing the group of taking some of the children found engaged in the vice into safe custody.

The ministry insists they overstepped their mandate as an NGO licenced to deal with older women.

Katswe directors were arrested for allegedly publishing falsehood relating to the ages of some of the children.

“As we speak right now, Katswe has become the criminals. Katswe has now been banned doing work in those communities,” Misihairabwi Mushonga said.

MDC-T Proportional Representation MPs Ruth Labode and Thokozani Khupe also slammed authorities for allegedly victimising a civil society organisation.

“… Please, let go of Katswe!  Ah aah!  What is this!” Labode said.

Khuphe also said Katswe sisters must be supported.

Mutare Central MP Innocent Gonese also criticised the arrest of “people who are trying to protect the victims of this scourge and protecting those people who are the perpetrators.”