GBV accounts for 25 percent of Midlands murder cases

Gweru (New Ziana) –Cases of gender-based violence (GBV) accounted for 25 percent of the trials for murder which the Gweru High Court circuit handled last year, an official has said.

High Court Judge Justice Evangelista Kabasa said this during the official opening of the 2024 Legal Year at the Gweru magistrates court on Monday.

She said said out of the 55 murder cases that the Circuit dealt with last year, 14 were as a result of GBV, figures which reflect the ugly face of gender-based violence in the Midlands province and the country as a whole.

Justice Kabasa said GBV remains one of the most prevalent forms of human rights violations globally that needs concerted efforts to stop it.

“The current circuit court has a total 18 cases and 4 of these are as a result of gender-based violence. This is a worrying trend as it shows a 25 and 22 percent occurrence rate,” she said.

She said the right to life is a fundamental human right which is enshrined in Section 48 of the Zimbabwean Constitution and society should respect the sanctity of life.

“Women have been killed by those who vowed to love and cherish them,” said Justice Kabasa, adding there is need for society to compliment the efforts of the government to eradicate GBV, taking into consideration that violence does not solve issues.

Justice Kabasa expressed concern at the upsurge in armed robberies during the course of some of which innocent lives have been lost, with credit going to law enforcement agents for accounting for some of the perpetrators’ of the heinous acts.

She also expressed concern at the rise in the abuse of drugs and alcohol by the youth, urging peddlers of the harmful substances to introspect on the harm that they inflicting on the future leaders of the country.

“Drugs are mind-bending resulting in our youths exhibiting psychotic behaviour which has seen our mental health institutions over-stretched and failing to cope with the numbers of those requiring psychiatric help,” she said.

The is need, Justice Kabasa said, for parents, guardians and members of the public to compliment efforts that law enforcement agents are making to end the scourge by exposing drug barons.

New Ziana