The Non-Governmental Gender Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has described the incident in Luapula Province where a father defiled his three-day-old biological daughter, leading to her death, as inhuman and evil.

And the Young Women in Action (YWA) say the Luapula child defiler should never see the light of day again, insisting that there is need to tighten laws concerning punishment of child abusers in Zambia.

In a statement, Monday, NGOCC executive director Engwase Mwale expressed shock that the father in question, 35-year-old Christopher Kasakula, would be so heartless as to turn on his own three-day-old baby rather than provide love and care to the infant.

“The news coming on the day the world commemorated Father’s Day has, indeed, once again brought to the fore the depth of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in our society. The women’s movement mourns with the family of the three-day-old baby who lost her life at the hands of a heartless father. The incident is not only disgusting, but evil and inhuman. It is shocking that instead of providing love and care, a father would be that heartless to turn on his three day-old baby. This incident emphasises the need for society to find a lasting solution to these increased cases of sexual violence against girls and women. We reiterate our call for all stakeholders to join hands in fighting this scourge. We appeal to the Church, the private sector and, indeed, the government to join hands in the fight against SGBV. It is our hope that justice will be done to ensure that the man is punished for murdering his own daughter,” stated Mwale.

And YWA national coordinator Harriet Chibuta said that Kasakula should never see the light of day again and appealed to CSOs, government and the public to protect children from defilers.

“Be it your husband, son, father, grandfather, pastor or friend who is a perpetrator of child defilement; report them to the nearest police station. If we don’t take it upon ourselves to ensure children are protected, this will be another narrative we tell forever. Lastly, YWA calls upon Mansa Police and all other stakeholders to see to it that justice prevails by ensuring that Christopher Kasakula never sees the light of day again! May he be an example in an effort to protect the Zambian children the future,” Chibuta said in a separate statement.

“Young Women in Action (YWA) is repelled by the insolent act of the 35-year-old Christopher Kasakula of Luapula Province, who defiled his three day-old daughter on the 15 June, 2019. It goes without saying that, children are humanity’s last hope; whatever, we have failed to achieve they can; they are the reason we hope for a better tomorrow, we cannot have a pocket of uncultured adults ruining their lives! Unfortunately, children experience violence in a wide variety of settings, ranging from home and school, to institutions and the judicial system. Being exposed to different types of violence, be it physical, emotional, sexual or neglect, is painful and can be traumatic. More importantly, such experiences in childhood have a strong association with future violence victimization and perpetration, lower education attainment, health and social problems across a person’s life.”

She said there was need to stiffen the punishment for defilement.

“Sadly, many cases of child sex offenders go unreported each day that passes. However, this does not only promote, but protects these criminals. The act is disgusting and inhumane. Child sex offenders should not be handled lightly, but face the most stringent punishment possible! We need to tighten the laws concerning punishment of paedophiles in our country. No child should ever have to endure sexual abuse and yet, most cases of child sexual abuse go unreported and if reported, mere punishment is given to perpetrators. It is very sad that, children like that of 29-year-old Brenda Kasakula are dying at the hands of these vultures,” stated Chibuta.