Horror In Bulawayo: 19 Children, 10-14, Impregnated In 8 Months

Bulawayo Officials Alarmed By Pregnancies In 10-14 Age Group

A wave of shock is spreading through Bulawayo following the revelation that nineteen children, all between the ages of 10 and 14, fell pregnant in just eight months. The deeply troubling statistics, which cover the period from January to August this year, were officially released during a National Aids Council stakeholders’ meeting last month. These figures have cast a stark light on a severe crisis affecting the city’s most vulnerable young residents. The situation is further compounded by the pregnancy of an additional 1,166 teenagers aged 15 to 19 during the same period.

According to the Sunday News, the age of consent in Zimbabwe is 18 years, making sexual relations with anyone aged 17 and below a criminal offence. The data shows that twelve of the pregnant children in the 10-14 age group were registered at Bulawayo City Council-run clinics. A further seven cases from this youngest cohort were recorded at the major central hospitals, Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals.

Official Statistics Reveal A Grim Picture

The breakdown of the cases from council clinics is particularly alarming. Emakhandeni Clinic reported five cases involving children aged 10-14, while Nkulumane Clinic recorded four. A further three cases from this age group were picked up within the northern suburbs district. The city’s Director of Health Services, Dr Edwin Mzingwane, expressed concern that the true number could be even higher. He suggested that some cases may have gone unrecorded.

“The 1 166 teenagers aged 15 to 19 is part of the number of those who came to the clinics and their cases were recorded. We have those cases where pregnancies are terminated without reaching hospitals. Going forward, we will also be approaching private facilities to get a clearer picture of the situation across the city,” said Dr Mzingwane.

Dr Mzingwane also highlighted the challenges in tackling the issue, noting the difficulty in identifying the perpetrators. He explained that the city plans to change how it records data to better highlight crimes against the youngest minors.

“Those who are under 17 years of age are under-age and the police have to intervene. It’s not easy to reveal who is impregnating them. Communities are reluctant in revealing the identities of the individuals impregnating minors,” he said.

Community Stigma And A City-Wide Crisis

The problem is not confined to specific neighbourhoods. Councillors present at the meeting stressed that the scourge of child pregnancy, affecting both the 10-14 and 15-19 age groups, is a city-wide issue. Ward 10 Councillor Khalazani Ndlovu explained that shame and stigma often force families to seek help outside their own communities, masking the true origin of the cases.

“This is a citywide problem. It is not a problem that is limited to certain wards or areas. There are cases where a pregnant child from Cowdray Park is recorded at a Mzilikazi clinic because the parents are too embarrassed to register the child at a clinic in their own area,” said Clr Ndlovu.

Bulawayo’s Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu, voiced his profound concern over the high number of child pregnancies across both age brackets. He pointed to poverty as a root cause and called for a coordinated government response to protect young people.

“The biggest problem we have is poverty. As council, Central Government, through its Department of Social Development among other agencies, we should go into communities and identify vulnerable children and come up with ways of helping them. By looking at the statistics, I believe we are trying to solve symptoms of a problem that is already affecting communities,” he said.

The deputy mayor added that even the older teenagers in the 15-19 cohort are not ready for the responsibilities of motherhood, stating, “even those who are aged 19 years are still too young to understand the institution of marriage.”