Boy marries minor as a gift wife from God

in court

A 16-YEAR-OLD Apostolic sect member was shocked after being arraigned before the court for having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old.

The Boy claimed that he saw nothing wrong with what he did as he was merely following a dream in which he was instructed to marry the girl.

The boy appeared before Masvingo magistrate, Mr Timon Makunde, facing charges of having sexual intercourse with a minor as defined in section 70 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

The court advised the boy to be careful with his dreams and guard against dreams that lead to commission of criminal offences. The boy pleaded guilty to the charge.

He was sentenced to receiving a moderate correction of three strokes that were to be administered in private by a prison officer. In addition, he was given a wholly suspended sentence of six months on condition he does not commit an offence of a similar nature.

The state case as presented by the prosecutor, Mr James Murambiza, was that the boy who goes to an Apostolic church that the girl also attends in Masvingo, dreamt having married the girl who was doing Form Two.

The prosecutor further told the court that on 25 June this year he fulfilled his dream and married the girl. He proceeded with her to his home in Chief Chikwariro, Village Murembwe in Marange, Buhera, where he introduced the girl to his parents as his wife that he was given by God in a dream. The parents, the court heard, accepted the bride and stayed with her.

It was the State case that the following week, the boy and his parents raised money and went to the girl’s parents where they paid part of the bride price (lobola).

Mr Murambiza further told the court that the in-laws accepted the bride price as the initial stages of a long process and a beginning of a relationship between the two families.

They even stated, the court heard, that they were always ready to engage them whenever they raised any amount for payment of the remaining agreed bride price.

 The process however, did not go down well with some of the girl’s family members who are not members of the church who felt the girl was still too young to get married and reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of the boy.