MR.

MATANGIRA:
Thank you Mr. Speaker. I want to support what has been said by my
predecessors. I wish to take you back into our social historical
background. When we grew up as children, we would go for
swimming in the streams. We would swim with girls who were older
than us and we would not have any thoughts of having families with
them.
The issue at hand is the issue of culture, which is now lost. It is the
issue of adopting the Western culture into our own. The churches
that we had then, gave teachings to say that if one stays with a
woman before marriage, one would go and get burnt in hell.
However, now with modern technology of television and internet,
the Islamic faith, Apostolic Faith, Roman Catholic, Methodist and so
on, are all churches that despise each other. Some even say that it
is important for them to meet God. No-one fears the Lord anymore.
The marriage of a child that is now a wife and becomes a mother
was something that was not acceptable in our areas. It meant that
the child was prone to diseases like backache and other diseases. It
meant that this child could not engage in other duties in the home.
The western culture, the legislation and laws that we have in this
country includes what we are talking about in this debate is self
contradictory.
We are the ones who are saying that children should be given
condoms without mentioning which age children should be given the
condoms. When children are speaking in the science laboratory,
they are talking about experiments. Are we not making our children
guinea-pigs by putting condoms in schools? Are we taking them to
the primary or secondary school, the high school or we are taking
them to the university? I think it is us who have lost direction.
Looking back in introspection, the sugar daddies are us the
Members of Parliament and the Ministers. The marriageable age of a
child is 16 years. As the Member of Parliament, I am found in the
school. This child is 16 years and I am calling for a beauty pageant
show. We go there with our Ford Rangers and advocate for such
shows. Now we are complaining in this House; we are hypocrites.
We are the ones that have taught the child canal knowledge. We
have impregnated this child.
Where I come from, they always say that a teacher cannot be
reported because the teacher gives you everything sugar, meat
and so on. Now, it is has come back to us. The law should be
straight, not ambiguous and it should be for all. If we look at the
Bible, in Egypt, Pharaoh put a law to the midwives, when he had
heard that the Israelites were growing so fast in population, he said

all the male children should be killed. The midwives lied that there
were no male children that were being born. Children were born and
dressed in baby girls clothes.
As a country, we seem to be doing the same thing. The reason is
poverty but we have midwives. Let us record all the girl children
who are under age and are impregnated. If you see a child and think
that the child is below the age of getting pregnant, stop that child
and ask how old that child is, who impregnated her and all the
information so that the perpetrator can be arrested. Child marriage
is broad. Child marriage does not mean to say people have got to go
to church, get married to a 13 year old and live with that child. To
stay together with a thirteen year old child is not marriage. So we
really have a huge challenge ahead of us as a nation.
Mr. Speaker, if you drive along the Avenues area in the evening,
what you see there is terrible. We should take our female Members
of Parliament and go with them and ask them to look at the children
who are below the age of 16 but are engaged as commercial sex
workers. Ask them how the child ended up in the streets. Can we
say it is the mother or father or can we say it is the culture that has
now changed? This issue requires us to deal with people who are
engaged in such acts.
It is embarrassing, Mr. Speaker, that a Member of Parliament in his
area has over 30 children who are pregnant. That should be looked
at in this House. As an honourable Member of Parliament, it is good
to do some introspection of your constituents and of yourself if in
ones constituency, a Member of Parliament is dating a Form Two
child and a Form Four child, all those that older people are dating in
the area.
My request is that we as honourable members here, it has been said
before that mazai haana muto. What worries me Mr. Speaker, is just
one issue. When we are in our constituencies, we say what has been
said should be done. We want to talk and do and not to talk and
talk, and talk and talk again. What we are saying here, we are not
seeing it being implemented in the constituencies. What does it
mean? Does policy not come from what we are debating here. If we
have talked about an issue and we have accepted it, then it should
be legalised. Should we continue talking about it?
This is not the first time for us to be talking about child marriages
but what action has been taken? How many people have been
brought to book None. Perpetrators including Pastors are walking
freely. So now, where are going Mr. Speaker? Honestly, as the
Chairperson of the House, we are saying, as we leave this House, let
it be a law that whoever is found wanting or the perpetrators should

go to jail. I am happy with motion that I read here which is talking

about vagrants.
The children do not have anything to do, hence the level of poverty
is just so high. Leaders are the worst perpetrators of child
marriages. If you go into the Avenues area, you will find that 15% of
the children there are staying in the flats and those who are renting
those flats for them is us. It is embarrassing Mr. Speaker. I think we
should stop this by jailing offenders and this should not be
selectively applied. Let us put a price to protect the girl-child. If you
see one that has been impregnated before the age of 16, we should
be able to come up with a stiffer penalty.
You will see how many people will get arrested. So many of them will
be arrested. Even with some of these big guys that you know, you
will be shocked to see them being arrested because they are the
biggest perpetrators of child marriages. So I want to thank the
mover of the motion and the seconder.
You know these women are in trouble, us men are always quick to
point to the wives and say it is you who have caused this but the
question is, you as the father, when you came home late last night
where were you? There is no explanation. You came with lipstick on
your shirt smelling of a strange perfume and when you see the girl
that they were with, you will be shocked to see a 13 year old kid.
Thank you.