Mother Sentenced 5 Years For Burning Daughter's Hands

Mrs Nsongwe and her daughter before the arrest

By Paul Shalala in Kapiri Mposhi

The Kapiri Mposhi Magistrate's court has sentenced a 34 year old mother of Material Compound to five years imprisonment with hard labour for burning the hands of her seven year old daughter over sweet potatoes.

Kapiri Mposhi Resident Magistrate Axion Mumba sentenced Doreen Nsongwe after he found her guilty of burning her daughter's hands with hot charcoal after she ate sweet potatoes at a neighbour's house.

Magistrate Mumba described Mrs Nsongwe's action as barbaric.

He added that, as a mother, the defendant shouldn't have done what she did.

In her mitigation on Tuesday, Mrs Nsongwe said she was just punishing her child and asked the court for forgiveness adding that she looks after many children.

Mrs Nsongwe is expected to be transferred to Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison in Kabwe where she is expected to serve her sentence.

The burnt child, Lillian Nsongwe, is a Grade One pupil at Material Primary School within Kapiri Mposhi.

Lillian was burnt on Thursday last week.

The case was reported to the Police by Mrs Nsongwe's husband who is the child's stepfather.

During the woman's arrest on Monday, her neighbours wailed uncontrollably as she was led away to the Kapiri Mposhi Police Station.

Her daughter was also taken away by the District Social Welfare Office who are looking into her plight.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This blogger also did a TV report on the same story which aired on TV1's Morning Live program on 16 February, 2016. The story can be watched here: Kapiri Mposhi Mother Sentenced

Kapiri Mposhi Mother Arrested For Burning Her Child Over Food

Mrs Nsongwe and her daughter Lillian at home

By Paul Shalala in Kapiri Mposhi

A 34 year old mother of Kapiri Mposhi in the Central Province has been arrested for burning the hands of her seven year old daughter after she ate sweet potatoes at a neighbour's house.

Doreen Nsongwe has been remanded at the Kapiri Mposhi Police Station where she has been charged for the offence of assaulting a child.

"We received a report of a seven year old girl of Kapiri Mposhi being burnt by her mother. The report was given to the Police by the girl's stepfather who said the mother was annoyed because the girl ate at her neighbour's house," said Central Province Police Commissioner Lombe Kamukoshi in an interview.

According to an officer who conducted the arrest in Material Compound, on 9th February,  Mrs Nsongwe got hot charcoal and placed it in the hands of her daughter Lillian which ended up burning her severely.

Lillian is a Grade one pupil at Material Primary School.

During her arrest yesterday which this blogger witnessed, Mrs Nsongwe cried, saying she was trying to discipline her daughter when she burnt her.

The arrest attracted a huge number of neighbours, some of whom wailed as she was led away into a vehicle by uniformed Police officers.

The victim, who was visibly traumatised, cried as she noticed that her mother was being led away by police officers.

And Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner Peter Mwiinde vowed that parents who physically harm their children should be prosecuted.

"This is total stupidity. Such parents must be arrested and taken to court. Am ordering all the Police officers in the Victim Support Unit, do not release such culprits, take them to court and let them face the law," said the visibly annoyed Mr Mwiinde.

The GBV One Stop Center under construction 

Mrs Nsongwe was today expected to appear before a magistrate's court in Kapiri Mposhi.

Her child has now been taken by the District Social Welfare Office which will monitor her progress as she is being treated by medical personnel.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a major problem in Kapiri Mposhi.

This has led government to construct the first ever GBV One Stop Center in the District which will serve the whole province.

The center has so far reached roof level and the contractor Workman Limited is on schedule.

K1.4 million is being spent on the project.

"GBV cases here in Kapiri Mposhi are on the rise due to the location of the town. We need this GBV One Stop Center because currently, victims have nowhere to run to," said Kapiri Mposhi District Social Welfare Officer Moses Manasseh in an interview.

He added that once completed, the center will offer refuge to GBV victims and those who do not need shelter will be going there for counselling.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The story on the construction of the GBV One Stop Center was also aired as a report on TV1's Morning Live program on 16 February 2017 and it can be watched here: GBV One Stop Center

GBV, Early Marriage 'Super Girls' Get Entrepreneurial Skills

Some of the Super Girls who received the training

By Paul Shalala in Pemba

They sing joyously and smile as they prepare to attend class.

These are 42 young women of Pemba District in Southern Province, most of whom are victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and early marriages.

Some have gone through beatings, torture, painful divorce and others went through difficult delivery as young mothers.

But in the past two days, they were all smiles at the Pemba Teachers Resource Center to acquire knowledge in business.

These young women live in Pemba, a newly created district which is predominantly rural and whose residents mainly depend on agriculture for their survival, are strong and role models to other women.

In a society where women rarely come out in the open over issues such as wife battery and abuse, the women of Pemba seem to be a rare breed.

They attended a two day training in entrepreneurship being led by Nalituba Mudenda and Nang’amba Chintu, both 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows who spent six weeks at the University of Iowa and University of Nevada –Reno respectively under the US State Department’s Young Africa Leaders Initiative earlier this year.

Nalituba Mudenda conducting one of his lessons

Mr Mudenda is the brains behind Smart Dreams Startup for Young Entrepreneurs, a non profit which aims at building an entrepreneurial mindset among youths and women and helping them grow their ideas into big and attainable businesses.

During the training, he was joined by Ms Chintu who established the Pemba Super Girls Club last year to help female victims of GBV come out in the open and gain enterpreneural skills.

During the traininhg, the 42 women went through courses such as business models, customer segments, record keeping and customer relations.

“The response towards entrepreneurship by these women here in Pemba is overwhelming. Am seeing powerful business women in Pemba, this will reduce on the rate of poverty, child labour, gender based violence because more women will be empowered to become successful entrepreneurs,” said Mr Mudenda who drove over 500 kilometers from the northern Zambian city of Ndola to conduct the free training at his own cost.

He adds that the women have a lot of potential:  “These women have brilliant ideas which when developed can turn into successful businesses. The only challenge many entrepreneurs here face is how to do customer discovery, hence going into wrong businesses.”

For Ms Chintu who started the club without any external funding, the training is a dream come true.

“Of the 42 members, 22 of them stopped school in Grade Nine due to early marriage, pregnancies or GBV while others stopped school in Grade 10. The training on entrepreneurship is a dream come true because I have always wanted to equip them with entrepreneural skills so that they can have  income generating projects whose proceeds can go towards their children’s school fees and opening their individual start ups,” she said.

The Super Girls during one of their computer lessons

Ms Chintu is a journalist whose full time job is that of Pemba District Information Officer at the Zambia News and Information Services, a department under Zambia’s Ministry of Information.

During the workshop, the women also benefited from lectures given by a manager from Investrust Bank who took them in financial subjects such as types of accounts, loan services and products which the bank can use to help the club as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Judith Mwale, one of the beneficiaries of the training, says she learnt a lot.

“The training is beneficial because am being taught to work in a group and the other thing I have learnt is financial management and entrepreneurship,” said Mrs Mwale.

The Pemba Super Girls, who meet regularly for such activities as netball and computer lessons, have become a household name in Pemba.

The group is involved in information sharing activities during their netball games with other women groups in the villages surrounding Pemba town.

These activities include the promotion of taking back female pupils to school so that they can be given another chance to continue with their studies.

The joyous Super Girls after playing netball at Pemba Grounds

This is being done in conjunction with the Ministry of General Education under its re-entry policy which allows girls who have fallen pregnant or who were married at an early age to go back to school and continue with classes.

Last week when Pemba District held activities to commence the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, the Super Girls were instrumental in the marchpast.

One of the Super Girls Egala Kabesha was even honoured by Pemba District Commissioner Reginald Mugoba for defying the odds and taking her husband to court for GBV.

Starting in January 2017, the 42 Pemba Super Girls are expected to start going through literacy classes as a way of keeping them busy.

All these activities are being done with the consent and support of the spouses of those ‘girls’ who are married to avoid conflict in the houses.

For a rural area like Pemba, the support of the spouses to the Super Girls’ activities is critical to avoid further violence in the house when the women return home late from club activities.

Mandela Fellows’ Anti-GBV Campaign Enters Southern Province

By Paul Shalala in Pemba

The Mandela Washington Fellows before the marchpast

Disturbed by the increasing number of media reports showing wives killings their husbands in Zambia, 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows in Zambia have launched the #MWFAgainstGBV campaign to raise awareness about the gender based violence.

Since the idea was shared among the 43 Zambian fellows in early September, the group raised money and made arrangements to launch the campaign in Pemba, a rural district in Zambia’s Southern Province where Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases are alarming.

The fellows first launched the hashtag #MWFAgainstGBV on social media ahead of the launch.

On 25^th November, five fellows travelled to Pemba District which is about 300 kilometers south of the capital Lusaka, to launch the campaign together with civil society, government officials and activists.

Mandela Washington Fellows leading the procession

The launch coincided with the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence which commenced that day and will end on 10th December 2016..

The day started with the Mndela Fellows paying a courtesy call on the district Commissioner to explain their mission in the district.

After that, it was time for a marchpast across the central business district of Pemba.

Pemba District Commissioner Reginald Mugoba flagged off the marchpast.

2016 Mandela Washington Fellows Paul Shalala, Mwanga Simwanda, Nang’amba Chintu, Abigail Nedziwe and Vwanganji Bowa led the hundreds of marchers along the three kilometre route from the District Administration offices to Pemba market where hundreds of marketers and residents were waiting.

Part of the crowd during the launch

Majorettes from Pemba Primary School provided entertainment as the procession made its way along the T2 main highway to the market.

At the market, various traditional groups provided entertainment for the hundreds of people who showed up at the event.

One touching sketch by a women’s group depicted a woman who poisoned her husband in order for her to inherit his wealth.

In another sketch performed by students from Pemba Secondary School, an alcoholic father was seen abusing his wife and children everytime he returns from drinking sprees.

Mr Mugoba speaking as Egala Kabesha holds a placard

The event was almost disrupted by heavy rains but the crowds defied the weather and remained attentive despite being soaked.

And in his speech, the District Commissioner thanked the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows for choosing his district to launch the #MWFAgainstGBV campaign.

“Your decision to launch the campaign in my district is welcome. Allow me to thank President Barack Obama for coming up with the Mandela Washington Fellowship which has seen our own youths doing great things upon return from the USA,” said Mr Mugoba, who was dressed in a Mandela Washington Fellowship t-shirt.

The fellows appeared on a live program on Byta FM

And speaking on behalf of other fellows, 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow Mwanga Simwanda said the team chose Pemba because of the increasing cases of GBV.

“We chose Pemba District not because of the hardworking 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow Nang’amba Chintu who is based here, but because of the 223 gender based violence cases you recorded last year. These are figures which are moving. We need to fight this problem together,” said Ms Simwanda.

Meanwhile, the Zambia Police Service in the district has recorded an increase in GBV cases this year.

Fellows taking a selfie at Pemba market

“From January to November this year, we have recorded 226 cases of GBV. Most of them involve defilement, wife battery and family neglect,” disclosed Inspector Henry Bwalya, who is the Coordinator for the Victim Support Unit at Pemba Police Station.

At the event, two people were honoured by the District Commissioner for joining the fight against GBV.

Egala Kabesha, a housewife, was honoured for defying the community and reporting her husband to the Police for beating her repeatedly.

Her case is currently before the courts of law.

Another person honoured was Inspector Mwangala, a Police officer who was a perpetrator of gender based violence but is now a Pastor in one of the local churches where he preaches against GBV.

After a radio program at Byta FM in Choma

After successfully launching the #MWFAgainstGBV in Pemba, the fellows left for neighbouring Choma District for a radio program.

Paul, Mwanga and Vwanganji were featured live on Byta FM to discuss the campaign and the Mandela Washington Fellowship.

The program, which was very interactive, was moderated by Mathew Simonje who himself is interested in applying for the fellowship next year.

Through the program, Mr Simonje, who is also the station's manager in charge of Marketing, was able to get tips which he hopes will help him apply for the Mandela Washington Fellowship when it opens for applications next year.

The fellows at Falls FM in Livingstone

The following day, the trio also featured on another live program on Falls FM, a radio station in Livingstone, a city which hosts the world famous Victoria Falls.

On this program, the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows discussed various issues surrounding gender based violence ranging from tradition, the law, early marriages and alcohol.

The fellows wrapped up their tour of Southern Province with an interview at ZNBC Livingstone offices where they explained to the country’s national broadcaster their mission in the province.

In 2017, the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellows hope to extend the #MWFAgainstGBV to all provinces with the help of some funding.

At present, the fellows are running the campaign using their own resources.

Zambia's Gender Based Violence Cases Shoot To Alarming Levels

By Paul Shalala

A bill board against defilemnet

Cases of gender based violence (GBV) have reached alarming levels in Zambia to an extent where school-going girls are now being taught not to allow their older brothers or fathers to touch them.

GBV is so common that the media in the country has now made it one of the stories being given prominence in the news.

This situation has led to activists, government and interested parties funding prevention programs and erecting huge billboards to try and fight the vice.

Defilement, which forms part of GBV, is the most prominent in the news.

A recently released annual survey by the Zambia Police Service has revealed that in the year 2015, the country recorded 18,088 defilement cases which resulted in a 16.2% increase as compared with 15,153 cases the previous year.

These figures keep rising despite massive radio, TV and newspaper sensitisations and the rural programs the women's movement is currently implementing.

According to the Police report, other forms of GBV, aside of defilement, have also seen a rise in cases reported.

"Topping the list of cases reported were 6,205 Assault OABH (Occassioning Actual Bodily Harm), 2,759 defilement, 1,569 neglecting to provide and 1378 failing to provide cases. Other commonly reported gender based violence cases included Rape, Assault on a child, Indecent assault, Murder, Incest, Sexual Harassment, Child desertion and Unlawful wounding," read part of the report.

An anti-GBV bill board

However, these figures are only a fraction on what actually happens countrywide.

Most GBV cases in the rural areas are not report to the authorities due to fear of reprisals from the community or due to cultural practices.

According to some activists, men who defile girls as young as two or three years do so due to some false health beliefs.

"Some men believe that when they have HIV/AIDS and sleep with a child, they get cured of the disease, this is the reason you see men defiling children as young as two months," said an activist who spoke on condition of anonymity.

As a way of fighting the cultural part of the GBV cases, traditional leaders have been incorporated to try and discourage their subjects from marrying off under age girls.

In August last year, Zambia joined the 'HeForShe' campaign, an international campaign to fight GBV which has so far incorporated chiefs and civic leaders to spearhead the fight against abuse of girls and boys.

So far, the campaign has been introduced in most rural parts of the country with bicycles being distributed to those at the core of its implementation.

Recently, Zambia's Gender Minister Nkandu Luo, while addressing chiefs in the north of the country, disclosed that one-stop-centers had been set up in several communities where GBV cases can be reported and dealt with.

Senior Chief Nkula

Professor Luo said: "The centers will also be furnished and computers will be bought to allow for easy tracking of cases. We know that more needs to be done but for a start, we thought of establishing the offices first."

One of traditional leaders who has taken the fight against GBV personal, is Senior Chief Nkula of the majority Bemba speaking people.

At the entrance to his palace in the town of Chinsali, are inscriptions in the local Bemba language warning his subjects against marrying off their school-going children.

Inside his palace, the chief has decorated his sitting room with several certificates he has been awarded for standing up to the rights of girls.