Rutendo Jiri
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance is at the centre of a children’s rights violation storm after they caused the arrest of two minors who were part of their on-going voter registration campaign, last week.
Posting on their official twitter account, the MDC Alliance Harare said that the two minors were part of seven Youth Assembly members who were arrested over the weekend for participating in a voter registration campaign in Zengeza East Constituency.
While, Chitungwiza Magistrates Court released the youths on $6000 bail and the two juveniles on free bail, the opposition should be called out for child rights violations.
The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance has always claimed to be the champion for human rights in their quest for political expediency, hence the recent child abuse case should be used to expose their double standards.
International, regional and local child protection instruments such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as well as the Children’s Act Chapter 5:06 respectively underscores the protection of children from various forms of abuse including their involvement in politics.
In direct contravention of the Children’s Act Chapter 5:06 of Zimbabwe, the MDC Alliance leadership on their wisdom or lack of it colluded to the employment of children as voter registration agents in Zengeza West leading to their arrest.
In particular, Part III of the Children’s Act Chapter 5:06, Section 10A is dedicated to the prohibition of any parent or guardian (or any person) from allowing a child of school going age to absent himself or herself from school in order to engage in employment to gain a reward.
The MDC Alliance’s leadership knowingly allowed two minors to be part of their
on-going voter registration campaign knowing that it was a violation of their rights at a time when they should have been studying in school.
As proof that the two minor’s rights where abused, the two minors appeared in Court clad in their school uniforms.
The above scenario directly shows that the MDC Alliance does not have any regard for the rights of the African child, but would rather abuse them so as to score cheap political points of labelling Zimbabwe as a rogue human rights violator. It is obvious that the party knew well ahead that the authorities would descend upon them as they were contravening Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
Meanwhile parents and netizens have responded unkindly to the gesture by the opposition labelling it the worst form of abuse of children by an alleged human rights defender.
@Charega1 a netizen posted on twitter stressing his disappointment with the opposition by pointing out the irony in the MDC Alliance who claims to be human rights defenders, but is the first offenders of the same.
“@mdczimbabwe you use minors in campaigns and when they cross paths with the tenants of law, you cry human rights abuses. Aren’t you the first abusers of those minors’ rights? They were supposed to be at home studying now campaigning…,”said @Charega1.
What is scandalous is the opposition’s defiance and their continued defence of the use of children in politics labelling them as comrades who are fighting for their rights!
“We stand in solidarity with our comrades who are being persecuted by a frightened regime,” posted @MDC Alliance Harare on twitter in response to the scandal.
The opposition should be reminded that children have rights like any other human being and should always be seen as children in need of care and protection from society and from themselves.
What the opposition is doing is not different from going to a full blown war using children as human shields and when the same children are injured in the process they scream children’s rights have been violated when they inflicted the first wound.
Thankful to the Magistrates Court who are awoke to the law and the need to protect children, they granted the minors free bail.
This should serve as a lesson and a reminder to the opposition and all political activists of the need for child protection against abuse by powerful political elites for cheap gain.
Furthermore, MDC-A’s shenanigans are exposing minors to the deadly Covid-19 virus which is prevalent at mass gatherings such as voter registration campaigns.
As the country draws towards 2023 elections, it is noble that human rights and child rights defenders keep watch of the increasing cases of children’s rights violations and political abuse, while remembering that every child is in need of care and protection.
