Alarm as corporal punishment results in murders

• Discipline gone wrong
• Child physical abuse on the rise
• ‘Stressed parents take it out on children’

By Kundai Marunya

Different communities across Zimbabwe are grappling with abnormally high cases of “unintended” murders as parents/guardians end up killing their children in punishment gone wrong.
This is despite a High Court landmark ruling outlawing the beating up of children at school and in homes.
In the ruling of 2017, Justice David Mangota held that parents and teachers must not lay their hands on children, even if they misbehave.
Communities, churches included, however disregard the ruling in favour of the traditional way of disciplining their children, which has been in practice for centuries.
This a year alone, a Namibia-based Zimbabwean couple beat to death their nine-year-old daughter before burning her body to conceal the deed. They were later discovered and brought before the courts.
In a similar case a couple of months ago, a Mhangura couple beat their two-year old daughter for soiling herself while they were gold-panning on Hunyani river. They buried her body to conceal the murder only to be discovered after the child’s mother spilled the beans in a domestic dispute.
In October, 43-year-old Zvimba man Paddington Marezva was accused of beating his seven-year-old son to death. Police allege that Marezva, a divorced single parent, came home drunk and assaulted his children with a hoe for begging for food from neighbours.
“He struck his seven-year-old child on the head and he bled to death while his 10-year-old elder brother suffered a fractured left hand and swollen right hand,” confirmed police national spokesperson Assistant Inspector Paul Nyati.
“The elder child managed to seek help leading to the suspect’s arrest.”
In another gruesome murder in Mutare, one Thomas Muchakubvura (40) beat up his 13-year-old son after tying his neck, hands and legs with an electric cable.
The excessive corporal punishment was allegedly provoked by a misunderstanding over a delay in cooking beans.
After beating his son, Muchakubvura allegedly left him passed out only to return home hours later to clean up the crime scene.
He pretended to seek help and made false reports of a robbery gone wrong.
The gravity of the assault prompted Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Tendai Mahwe, to order a mental examination for Muchakubvura by two doctors.
In Rusape, police are set to exhume remains of a nine-year-old boy who was allegedly beaten to death by his father in September after refusing to take a bath.
The boy was allegedly beaten using a plank on the head and died on the spot.
He was buried without a police report at a funeral attended by some village heads who were allegedly aware of the circumstances surrounding the death of the juvenile as they are members of the same church with the accused person.
The father, Daniel Sarapo (38) of Toto Village under Chief Chiduku has since been arraigned before the courts.
According to Teen Rescue Mission (TRM), an organisation that safeguards the right of young people, cases of child physical abuse are on the rise due to economic hardships.
“The rise in these cases is largely as a result of economic hardships and related stresses,” said TRM director Abraham Matuka.
“The year has been tough for many parents. Many economic survival means have been cut off as a result of Covid-19. Parents end up exploding over little misdeeds and take it out on their innocent children.”
A study by Researchgate, revealed that in Zimbabwe, the majority of children (aged 15-17 years) reported being physically punished in their lifetime, with this most commonly involving being hit or beaten (78.9 percent), threatened (55.2 percent) and chased (47.2 percent).
Matuka said parents should exercise self-control in disciplining their children.
“Discipline does not always mean beating up a child; thus parents should find ways that do not injure or kill their children but uphold their relationship in mutual respect,” he said.
“Children also wish to enter adulthood.”
Religious leaders, especially Christians, are at the forefront of advocacy for corporal punishment.
They usually quote the bible’s many verses that support the practice, one of which being Proverbs 23 verses 13-14: “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.”
Reverend Regan Mashukure of Christian Family Church supports corporal punishment but says it should not be administered in anger.
“We encourage corporal punishment as a way of disciplining a child but it should not be administered in anger but with love while one is taught with the guidance of the bible.” Nhau/Indaba