President Mnangagwa Signs Bill Criminalising Sexual Intercourse With Persons Under 18
Having sexual intercourse with persons below the age of 18 is now a criminal offence in Zimbabwe after President Mnangagwa assented to the Criminal Laws Amendment (Protection of Children and Young Persons) Act, 2024.
The Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Martin Rushwaya made the announcement under General Notice 1441A of 2024 in an Extraordinary Government Gazette on Tuesday.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana confirmed the gazetting of the new law on his X page. He wrote:
The Criminals Laws Amendment (Protection of Children and Young Persons Act 2024 (Number 1) has been consented to by the President.
It is a criminal act to have sex with persons under the age of 18 years. It is not an acceptable Defence that they consented. It is a serious offence to infect a child with an STI.
Writing for newZWire, Mike Murenzvi asserted that the process began with a former child bride, Diana Eunice Kawenda. He wrote:
The process began with a former child bride, Diana Eunice Kawenda, who took up the mantle to fight for the rights of other young children to accord them the same rights and protections that were bestowed upon children under the age of 16 years.
This was back in 2020 in a matter that was settled by the Constitutional Court on 24 May 2022 by striking down the unconstitutional sections of the Criminal Law Code.
The Government and Parliament were given 12 months to go and enact a substantive law that would bring the Criminal Law Code in line with the Constitution in this respect. They did not.
From 24 May 2023 to 12 January 2024, there were no protections from sexual exploitation available to children aged 13 to 18 years of age in cases where they “consented” to sexual acts with an adult.
On 12 January 2024, after public outcry, the President promulgated a temporary law to reinstate those protections while Parliament went through the lawmaking process.
These regulations were valid for six months and expired on 10 July 2024 and the protections fell away. By that effect, the age of consent reverted to the default 13 years of age.
On 9 July 2024, the Criminal Laws Amendment (Protection of Children and Young Persons) Bill was passed by all houses of Parliament.
For the 71 days from that date until 18 September 2024, the country waited with bated breath for the enactment of this crucial law.
71 additional days within which our laws allowed for the exploitation of children. 71 days in which Zimbabwe was a haven for paedophiles.
Now the nation can breathe a sigh of relief as our children now have safety and recourse within the law.
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