Missing dimension in child protection

The temptation was to dip a finger in President Lazarus Chakwera’s foreign affairs exploits. The lure was too deep to look into how much Chakwera may end up as one of those African presidents to watch. Get me right, where diplomacy is concerned.

Only this week, as chairperson for the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), Chakwera and other leaders pleaded for the lifting of sanctions against Zimbabwe. Rightful and proper.

And while we are at it, Chakwera took a strong stance against the coup in Sudan. He called Sudan among the bad apples that are tarnishing the African democracy image. He told France24 Zambia and Malawi are the good examples of what democracy should be in Africa.

Even when he talked about the insurgencies in Mozambique, Chakwera reminds you of that firm stand in diplomacy that Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda advocated—Contact and Dialogue.

But I avoid that temptation, because up to now, it is incomprehensible why Chakwera moved the Malawi Embassy in Israel to the controversial Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. It remains to be seen if that was a good move. Only time will tell.

I avoided the temptation, strongly.

That is simply because these past few days have made us shudder. A video gone viral on social media showed a hyena-hearted man mercilessly beat up a child to the point of throwing him to the ground, where he fell head first.

Police arrested one Vincent Dzimadzi for the act and until the courts find him guilty, he remains innocent.

One thing, for sure, is that such cruelty and inhumane behaviour shows how low we have sunk as society. Protecting children remains a far-fetched dream.

The law provides that even where a child kills another child, he/she is never to be judged in terms of guilty or not guilty. Children are just liable to commit a crime.

So, what crime did that child commit to deserve such cruel punishment? The boy was tied to a rope, making him even more vulnerable! This, for me, is an example of someone thinking of a worse crime than just whipping the small boy.

On the question of punishment, we heard Gender and Social Welfare Minister Patricia Kaliati the other day stormed Lower Biwi and hooked up some little girls who were purportedly involved in sex work.

Here, again, you find the children abused. Their photos were all over the place. These cyber-crimes against children are, to say the least, unfathomable.

To make matters worse, we don’t hear if the children were taken to safe homes, instead of police cells. The High Court ruled in most definite terms that children should never be sent to police holding cells or prisons.

Has the gender ministry set up safe homes where children who need protection like that boy in Ntcheu or those young girls in Lilongwe should be sent? These are victims of abuse who need psychosocial support or they will live with memories of the abuse all their lives.

Otherwise, I find the ministry in contempt of court for not following that High Court order. Court rise!