Shameless Johanne Masowe grandfather “marries” 15 year old congregant.

A shameless and greedy 69 year old Johanne Masowe apostolic church member has invoked so much anger by taking in a 15 year old girl as his wife. The teenager is a congregant in the same church. Calls have been made for the man, who could easily pass off as the girl’s grandfather, to be arrested.

Girl child advocate Muzvare Betty Makoni castigated such behaviour and called on authorities to locate the innocent, young victim to be rescued. Many people have been speaking out against such outrageous behaviour by a fatherly figure who was supposed to be protecting such young lives.

An image of the gigantic, dark man grabbing the girl and posing for the camera has stirred even more anger. It is quite common among the Johanne Masowe members to take in juveniles and teenagers as wives. This is usually done after revelations that the spirit of God would have directed as such. The poor victims are then brainwashed into marriage forsaking their education and adolescence for an institution designed for mature people.

With the proposal of the new Marriage bill, such selfish acts are expected to be disposed of. The current legislation in Zimbabwe outlaws child marriages but a more comprehensive law really needs to be crafted in order to curb the scourge of child marriages in Zim, particularly in rural areas.