A Zimbabwean Magistrate Court has jailed a 29-year-old man known as Stanford Gunda who married a girl, aged 13 as his second wife.
According to Zimnews, the offence contradicted the Section 70 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act chapter 9;23.
The prosecutor, Kelvin Guvheya, told the court that, on the 29th of September 2017 at around 19:00hrs, Stanford Gunda convinced the 13-year-old (name withheld) via Whatsapp to elope with him, the teenager waited for him outside her home gate where Gunda took her to his friend’s house.
The court further heard, the following morning the two proceeded to Mutare where Gunda’s sister stays and had consensual sexual intercourse several times.
They later returned to Gweru where they stayed as a couple for the whole month. The teenage wife then went to inform her aunt about her marriage, consequently, the Aunt made a police report leading to the instant incarceration of the accused.
In his defence, however, Gunda argued that the juvenile and him were in love and they were married, he also alluded to the fact that she had consented to having sexual intercourse with him.
He said, “Your worship, the girl and I are deeply in love and we are customarily married, I did not rape her, she consented to have sex with me.”
The Magistrate said though he thought they were deeply in love, he acted unlawfully by marrying an underage.
“What is surprising is that you knew the girl was a grade seven pupil but you proceeded to have sex with her and took her as your second wife without informing any of her relatives,” she said.
Gunda was sentenced to two years imprisonment but could granted parole after six months based on good behaviour.
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