Zambians protest in Lusaka over spate of child rape reports

Warning: This story contains distressing details.

A protest march has been held in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, against a recent spate of reports of men raping children.

Over the last two months, Zambians have been shocked by several cases of child rape, some of which resulted in death.

Among the most horrific reports was that of a father allegedly raping his seven-year-old daughter while she was admitted to hospital for cancer treatment.

There have also been reports of a five-year-old allegedly being raped by a gang of four men, while another father was jailed for raping and infecting his six-year-old with genital warts, a sexually transmitted infection.

Zambia’s Justice Minister Princess Kasune-Zulu has called for the castration of child rapists as an extreme measure to deter 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 sickening. It is beyond laws now – it is up to us as Zambians to interrogate why our morals have decayed,” she recently told parliament.

Following the reports, civil society organisations, musicians, and individuals held a protest march on Thursday, calling for the government to amend the law to introduce tougher punishments for child rapists.

In a petition handed to Vice-President Mutale Nalumango, they demanded the law be changed so that those accused of child rape are not granted bail.

In response, Nalumango said the issue concerns everyone and that Zambians must take a stand.

A musician who took part 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 child rapists should be castrated “for the safety of children and also to deprive them of the pride of manhood because they don’t deserve it.”

In just the last three months of 2024, Zambia recorded more than 10,000 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) involving children, according to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. These were mostly in the capital, Lusaka.

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