Zambians protest in Lusaka because of children’s rape reports

Warning: This story contains suffering details.

A protest march was held in the capital of Zambia, Lusaka, against a recent composition of reports of men raping children.

In the last two months, the Zambians have been shocked by several cases of children rape, some of which have led to death.

Among the most terrifying reports was that a father who was said to have raped his seven-year-old daughter while she was admitted to a hospital for cancer treatment.

There have also been reports of five years that he is said to have been raped by a band of four men, while another father was closed for rape and infection with his six -year -old with genital warts, sexually transmitted infection.

Zambia Justice Minister Princess Casune-Zulu called for castration of the rapists of children as an exceptional measure to deter the perpetrators and protect children from abuse.

“How low can we go as a nation? How low can we go as a society? What is happening is painful. Now it is beyond the laws – it depends on us as Zambians to ask why our morals have broken down,” she recently told parliament.

Following the reports of organizations, musicians and persons of civil society, they held a protest march on Thursday, urging the government to amend the Law on the introduction of more thorough penalties for children’s rapists.

In a petition, handed over to Vice President Mutale Nalumangangu, they asked for the law to be amended so that the accused of raping children would not be provided with a guarantee.

In response, Nalumangango said the question applies to everyone and that the Zambians should take a position.

A musician who participated in the protest march told the BBC that “we need to create a safe environment for our children.”

Daputsa nkhata-zulu, also known as Sista D, added that children’s rapists should be castrated “for the safety of children and also deprive them of the pride of manhood because they do not deserve it.”

In the last three months of 2024 alone, Zambia has recorded more than 10,000 gender -based violence cases (GBV), including children, according to the National Corporation for broadcasting in Zambia. They were mostly in the capital, Lusaka.

More than 32,000 people received consultations for GBV last year, according to the annual GBV data analysis in Zambia 2024.